The initiative is premised on the idea that it is only through the creative energies of high schools and colleges working together in a spirit of joint responsibility for student success that substantial improvements in student outcomes will be achieved. There’s much that high schools and colleges are and want to be doing together to help remove barriers to student success. MI-PAT is designed to strengthen partnerships, seed or support innovation, and generate serviceable knowledge about practices associated with improved transitions in three key areas: readiness, placement, and remediation.
Learning pairs will be provided with funding over two years, broad design parameters, and access to technical assistance and national experts. In return, the pairs will commit to working toward specific improvements that are consistent with the core aims of the initiative and they will engage in knowledge-development work to elevate and share lessons learned through the partnership work.
Partners
While participating partners can design their own approach, each project should be aimed specifically at closing racial equity gaps with respect to increasing access to and success in the gateway math course. Project examples include:
- A 4th year transition course for high school students who are not on track to be college-ready by the end of their junior year that prepares them for gateway college math.
- Placement reform (e.g. GPA, multiple measures) aimed at increasing access to gateway math for more students.
- Co-requisite support for MTA gateway math courses at the community college including Quantitative Reasoning, Introductory Statistics, and preparation for Calculus (typically College Algebra or Pre-Calculus)
- Enhancements in pedagogy (active and experiential learning) or student advising (integrated or holistic supports) that accompany structural changes (multiple measures placement, co-req), aimed at increasing gateway course success in math.