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What is it about psychology and math? For years, I’ve been following colleges working to align math requirements with students’ majors. The point is to ensure that students can acquire quantitative reasoning skills relevant to their fields of study. One outcome of this work to diversify math requirements is to reduce the use of Calculus as a gatekeeper.

Recent analyses point to a need to rethink our assumptions about the role of advanced algebra prerequisites even when it comes to STEM success.

Does being “good at math” mean using a set of discrete skills and procedures to correctly answer problems on homework and timed tests? Or is it about making sense of real-world problems and using quantitative reasoning to solve them? Some of both, according to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

At most U.S. colleges, Precalculus is considered a college-level course. But when taught in high school, the course rarely confers college credit. More typically, high school Precalculus signals readiness for a college Calculus—though often, it doesn’t even do that: It’s not uncommon for students who take Precalculus in high school to repeat the course when they get to college.

My interest in redesigning math pathways dates back at least a dozen years. While working on improving student opportunities and outcomes at California community colleges, I came to realize how required mathematics courses—especially remedial algebra courses— were in fact limiting those opportunities and outcomes.