Category: Blog

We presented at SXSW for the first time this year in a team-up with the Gates Foundation, Student Ready Strategies and West Los Angeles College! We discussed how traditional college readiness standards often don’t reflect students’ true potential and can contribute to unfair outcomes. In this post, Josclynn Brandon, Vice President of Operations and Partnerships at Student Ready Strategies, a member of the Strong Start to Finish network, shares valuable reflections from the panel. “SXSW EDU was a powerful reminder of the energy and innovation driving change in higher education, and I left feeling more inspired than ever.” Read more.

Community colleges are essential gateways to higher education for diverse learners. Corequisite courses—placing students directly into college-level math or English with built-in support—are reshaping how colleges improve student success, especially for those historically placed in remedial classes. Authored by our colleagues at, Community College Research Center, this blog examines the growing body of evidence supporting corequisites and underscores the urgency of sustaining this progress rather than reverting to outdated practices.

Corequisite mathematics courses, enhanced by AI-enabled tools, can provide personalized learning for Black, Brown, Asian American, Indigenous and low-income students, possibly addressing diverse needs and levels of preparedness. Our Advisory Board Member, Lisa Cantlon, authors a blog post discussing how AI-enabled tools can offer tailored support, real-time feedback and culturally relevant content that helps students build confidence and succeed.

As the adoption of co-requisite developmental education continues to grow across the country, so should the conversation. Although we know this approach enables students to be more likely successful in college-level math and English courses, there is still more to learn about co-requisites and their various models. This blog post explores how colleges should be more specific about the various co-requisite models for even more positive outcomes. 

A brief faculty perspective of the challenges for faculty in reforming remedial education. As we move forward with the charge of AB 1705, faculty members reflect on the missing conversation needed to bridge policy and practice in order to sway reluctant.

Studying how our practices can privilege some students and create barriers for others, particularly whether there is a racialized pattern to that, is essential to address the current state of racial disparities in education. A recent report noted that faculty want to utilize culturally relevant teaching practices, yet a lack of time and capacity are barriers to developing these practices. In my experience, I have found the opposite to be true. Teaching and learning become easier when teachers understand what students understand. Teaching using the strengths of students actually saves time.

Gateway courses often serve as gatekeepers, preventing students from progressing to and through the general education curriculum and/or program of study associated with a particular major. This blog discusses the importance of gateway course redesign as one of several strategies used in order for students to pass credit-earning college-level courses, including English and math, in their first year of college.

In our May 2024 virtual faculty workshops, we learned that generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are accessible, have the potential to transform teaching and learning, and are already in use on postsecondary campuses across the country. Yet AI tools carry some significant risks. Our Advisory Board Member Sharmila Mann authored a blog post describing how coordinated policy strategies at the federal, state and institutional levels can support safe and ethical AI integration.

The new Strong Start to Finish Partner Menu of Service is a helpful guide for institutions and decision-makers planning and navigating developmental education reforms. Drawing on their experience working with community colleges to implement math pathways, Carnegie Math Pathways share their thoughts on the benefits of this tool. They detail how educators and leaders can use the tool to support their efforts of change.