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In my high school Algebra I class, an 11th grader sat quietly by the door. He had struggled with math anxiety and disruptive behavior in the past, and his discomfort was palpable. I was in my 13th year of teaching, using immersive group problem-solving and hands-on activities that engaged even my most reluctant students.

There’s a conundrum in college mathematics policies: Taking prerequisite math courses in college doesn’t appear to increase most students’ chances of completing calculus, yet most higher ed institutions continue to require them.

A pandemic-era experiment—making the SAT/ACT optional for college admission—is now being rolled back at colleges and universities across the country. And this reversal is going to come at a big cost to underserved students.

Today, many college systems are phasing out remedial courses, largely in response to a decade or so of research. Instead of relying on remedial courses and traditional placement tests, colleges are increasingly placing these students into college-level courses with appropriate supports, such as corequisite courses. 

The typical high school math sequence of Algebra/Geometry/Algebra II dates back 130 years. Many students, as well as a number of teachers, are saying they want more from their math courses.States have different ways of addressing the challenge of how to provide routes to multiple forms of advanced math—an issue that is often hotly debated...