The Mathematics of Opportunity: Charting a Path to Equity

In today’s data-rich, technology-enhanced world, math learning opportunities are central to the path to higher education and 21st-century careers. Math classes must serve as stepping stones rather than stopping points on students’ journeys. Ensuring that happens means, policies, practices, and perceptions must change to lower the systemic barriers that block some students’ paths forward, especially by race and gender.

To learn more about and support new strategies that enhance deeper learning and equitable outcomes, Just Equations held its fourth annual Mathematics of Opportunity conference on March 1-3, 2022. This free, virtual event featured Harvey Mudd College professor and PBS “NOVA Wonders” co-host Talithia Williams, speaking Power in Numbers: Unveiling Hidden Figures, about looking beyond traditional talent pools to recruit a new generation of STEM leaders.

Through a series of plenary sessions and interactive discussions, we continued conversations about how education systems, teachers, policymakers, and advocates can advance math education that enhances deeper learning and equitable outcomes. The conference explored topics such as: math education and the whole student, centering equity in data science education, calculus as a gateway to STEM for diverse learners, challenges and opportunities in implementing college math corequisites, and the role of college admissions in shaping math education.