A few years ago, it was common practice for entering first-year college students to submit to an assessment exam for placement purposes in math and English courses. Students who scored high on these exams were placed in a college-level course, while others were led on the developmental education (DE) route. While this is a not-too-distant reality, it still occurs in institutions today.

Research has indicated that college and university developmental math programs, as they currently are, produce poor results with low student success rates. To address this, state legislators are intervening, creating policies that range from support for reform to mandated approaches. In this post, let’s look at a few states executing developmental education practices through laws or mandates.

With the anticipated learning loss due to the pandemic, forced remote learning, and the ubiquitous use of technology for the classroom, there has been considerable talk about personalized learning. What exactly is personalized learning? What are the advantages and disadvantages of other strategies? And, most importantly, how do you implement personalized learning in the college math classroom?

Higher education is typically in a state of reform. With the pandemic, that has only accelerated. When initiatives for change are enacted, having stakeholders at the forefront is critical to the amount of the time needed for the initiative and its success. Which stakeholders have the most influence on success or failure of higher ed initiatives? Faculty.

It’s no secret that higher education has an equity gap problem. But this isn’t a new issue or one caused by COVID-19. This has been an ongoing concern for far too long. Let’s take a look at what educational equity is, how it’s affecting our education system, and how implementing effective developmental math redesigns can aid in eliminating equity gaps.

Since I think everyone has passed the finish line (cue the song “School's Out”), I hope you have already had some time for rest and relaxation, or you, at least, have something planned. While our students are making the most out of their summer, we're wired a little bit differently. Yes, we need a break and a chance to exhale, but we also know what we should do to make our lives easier in the fall.

Science has been under fire since the pandemic started. It is my intent with this blog to explain what scientists do, how scientists think and communicate with one another, and how to go about fact-checking science-based statements that are made in the news.

Why does math stop interest in science? There is a need for more STEM graduates to fill the projected growth in STEM occupations. What can we do to support and encourage those students who are interested in STEM, but then get stopped by challenges?

In this post, I talk about some of the changes we’re making at Almy Education, why we’re making them, and how they will affect you.

In this blog, Arlene Vinion Dubiel shares what makes an exemplary project-based assessment with the intent of helping others to identify, modify, and/or create high-quality project-based assessments.