Math Pathways and Corequisites

Corequisite Mathematics

Washington Community and Technical Colleges, like similar institutions across the country, are contending with the challenge of providing students with the appropriate support for their degree mathematics courses. Data consistently reveals the low success rates among students navigating lengthy precollege sequences to reach college-level mathematics, which disproportionately affects our most underserved populations.

Efforts have been made to address these challenges by shortening pathways and refining the precollege course curriculum. Despite these efforts resulting in modest improvements, success rates remain very low, especially for students starting more than one level below college level. It is crucial for institutions to adapt. Faculty acknowledge that enrolling underprepared students in traditional college-level courses without additional support is not a recipe for success.

One model that has garnered national attention for its early success is the corequisite model. In this model, students who would typically enroll in a standalone precollege course are instead placed in the first college-level math course for their degree path, alongside a corequisite course that provides "just in time" support. By aligning the support course directly with the college-level content, students learn the necessary algebra in a relevant context and precisely when they need it, rather than months in advance.