Advancing a Mathematics of Opportunity

The path to social justice requires reimagining math education. Math is often seen as a neutral filter for academic advancement, when in reality it functions as a gatekeeper that reinforces existing inequities. In a blog for EdTrust, Just Equations executive director Pamela Burdman highlights how traditional course pathways, biased placement policies, and narrow definitions of math success limit access for students, especially those from historically marginalized communities. She argues that math education must be reimagined to serve as a gateway to opportunity, because without equitable access to rigorous math and data skills, students are blocked from fully engaging with the social, economic, and civic issues that shape our world.

California’s higher ed system promises opportunity through its broad network of community colleges, particularly in high-demand fields like STEM. But for many students that promise is more illusion than reality. In their EdSource commentary, Pamela Burdman, Alexis Robin Hale, and Jenn BeVard note that students face a web of institutional barriers, from limited course availability and rigid sequencing to unclear transfer guidance and insufficient support. These obstacles, especially in math, undermine students’ ability to persist and transfer in STEM majors. Unless structural reforms are made to streamline pathways, improve advising, and align math requirements, STEM will remain a locked door for too many of California’s community college students.

In a wide ranging interview with The 74, Just Equations National Policy Director Andrea McChristian discusses her mission to address disparities in math education and why math equity is an important civil rights and social justice issue.

In an op-ed for Education Week, Just Equations Director of Educational Partnerships Shakiyya Bland examines the imperative of providing students with the skills they will need to understand and participate in our data-rich world.