Grant Aims for Better Math Skills for High School Students to Multiply Chances of Success in College and Beyond

OLYMPIA -- To help increase the number of high school graduates ready to succeed at college-level math, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing more than $400,000 in the Transition Mathematics Project. The two-year grant was announced today by the project leads, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Council of Presidents (COP), which represents the presidents of the state’s public universities.

The grant more than doubles the original $300,000 appropriation provided for this project by the Washington State Legislature in the 2004-05 supplemental budget.

While strong mathematics skills are increasingly essential for success in our high tech economy, mathematics presents a significant challenge to many high school students across the nation. High school seniors rank near the bottom on international tests of mathematics knowledge and more than a third rank below "basic" on the mathematics National Assessment of Educational Progress. And, 22 percent of college freshmen are identified as needing remedial coursework in mathematics.

The Transition Mathematics Project is designed to reverse this trend by helping students successfully progress from high school math to college-level math. With the participation of high school and college math instructors and business and community leaders, it will help identify the math skills and knowledge high school graduates need to avoid remediation upon enrolling in college, meet minimum admission requirements and successfully complete college-level work.

"According to the Manhattan Institute, a third of America's students are not making it to graduation day, and of those that do, another third are not being adequately prepared for college-level work," said Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We must ensure that our young people have the tools they need to go to college and earn a degree, including strong, math skills."

While college-bound students also experience difficulty being fully prepared for college-level courses in other basic subject areas, they are far more likely to need remediation in math.

"We know we have a real problem in math, and we think a big part of that problem is that students don't always get clear and consistent messages about what the math expectations are," said Earl Hale, SBCTC executive director. "This project will bring educators together from high schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities to clarify those expectations and help students–and their parents–understand that readiness for college isn't just about achieving the math standard on the WASL. Instead, it involves pursuing higher-level math courses all through high school."

The collaborative approach being taken with the Transition Math Project is part of an effort by the higher education community and K-12 schools to create a seamless P-16 system that will benefit Washington students.

"We have a responsibility to make sure students understand that passing the high school math WASL and earning the minimum graduation requirements in math does not a guarantee readiness for college-level work," said Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction. "Students need to continue to build their math skills beyond the 10th grade by taking rigorous classes and challenging the myth that math is hard."

"Leaders from the K-12 and higher education systems have committed to common ownership of the responsibility to prepare students with math skills that will enable them to be successful in whatever their next step is in personal fulfillment - whether it be in the world of work, entry to a community or technical college, or to a four-year college," said Terry Teale, executive director of the Council of Presidents. "This important and exciting project has the potential to set a precedent for breaking down barriers that make it difficult for students to progress from one sector to another."

This project is a private-public partnership involving financial and in-kind contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Washington State Legislature and participating state agencies. Over the past four years, the foundation has invested $247 million to help improve education and increase access to higher education in Washington.