Transitional Math

Transitional math courses are courses for high school seniors that support a smooth transition to college. Usually this means the course offers a student something related to placement at a college, either via a test or a course grade. In Illinois, transitional math is required under the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act (PWR Act). Courses have to be created in partnership between high schools and colleges and vetted at the state level to show they meet policy and content requirements through a process called portability. When courses are approved portable, students earning a C or better receive guaranteed placement in a college-level math class at all Illinois community colleges. Watch this video for a brief introduction into Illinois transitional math.

Resources for Illinois Partnerships

Overview of IL Transitional Math

We have partnered with IL ASCD to offer a transitional math summit on demand. It includes 5 videos covering all aspects of transitional math as well as a private Slack channel and live office hours with Kathy for support as you learn. Click here to learn more and to register.

Curriculum

We know that for materials to work in the classroom, they must be tested and refined by teachers over time. There is no substitute for that. All of our curricular options for IL transitional math have been used and improved over years. Save yourself time being a guinea pig and use content that is tested and trusted.

Portability

Portability is a requirement in IL for a transitional math course. It establishes that the course has been vetted for quality, making the course acceptable for placement throughout the state. But getting there is not quick nor simple. We’ve taken the guesswork and confusion out of the process with our options: a full course that walks you through every step with videos and documents and a short course that has a few videos and all the document support you need.

Advising

Having the right students in a transitional math class is essential for it to work well. Getting there requires understanding the state requirements and knowing how to use them in your school. We’ve taken the lessons from working with many schools who have struggled and then succeeded with this issue and shared them in a short workshop.

Almy Education Advising Flowchart for High School Counselors (PDF)

Teacher Training

Teachers have certain requirements to meet with IL transitional math in terms of policies, content, and instructional approach. The pedagogy is new to most teachers since it is based in teaching through problems and problem solving to students who have struggled with math. We have done this for many years and know the techniques that make these courses successful in classrooms.

Contact us to set up a half or full day workshop(s) for teachers. Choose as many as needed: teaching TM, teaching transitional STEM, teaching transitional QL/Stats, teaching transitional technical math.

"Stagg High School is currently using the Math Lit curriculum for our Senior Applied Math Course (a transitional math course). The curriculum is perfect for APPLYING math concepts in real life situations. Students constantly comment on how they see the importance of what they learned their first 3 years in high school as it is applied in a context that they see each day. The projects and course work allow you as an educator to make a connection with your students through great discussions and applications."
John Daniels

Registration Setup (for colleges)

For transitional math placement to work, every student-facing area of a college needs to understand transitional math. That takes more than absorbing information from a handout or video. We will determine needs related to data, IT, records and registration, advising, testing and placement, and any other affected student services areas of the college. Then we work with you to develop a timeline and implement a plan of action that works for your college, resources, and timeline.

Contact us to set up a customized plan of action to integrate students with TM placement into your college's systems.

Free Resources

Every IL community college is required to accept the transitional math placement of a student who earns a C or better in a portable transitional math course. To make placement work for students and for college staffs, several areas of the college must implement changes.

The “Accepting students with transitional math placement” webinar outlines the steps colleges have to follow to implement these changes.

Community

Many transitional math teachers feel alone since they are often the only person in their math department teaching the course. It’s essential to have peers to reach out to for advice, sharing, and even commiserating. We’ve made a free way for teachers throughout the state to have just that.

Illinois Transitional Math Teachers (Free Facebook group)