The reason? A lack of calculus courses, especially in under-resourced districts, often prevents students from gaining admission to a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) university or pursuing careers in those fields.
The new program, called the MIT4America Calculus Project, was created last year with an in-person summer calculus camp. Since then, it has grown to include 14 school districts and 30 undergraduates and seven alumni as tutors, the university said.
The program aims to expand to 20 school districts. All tutors complete training before they begin teaching.
“Calculus is a gateway for many students into STEM higher education and careers,” MIT Professor Eric Klopfer, a co-director of the project, said in a statement. “We can help more students, in more places, fulfill requirements and get into great universities across the country, whether MIT or others, and then into STEM careers. We want to make sure they have the skills to do that.”
Nearly half of U.S. high schools don’t offer advanced placement (AP) calculus classes, which are mandatory courses for most university STEM programs, including at MIT, according to a 2018 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education.
The MIT program works with districts that have existing calculus programs but need additional educational support due to funding constraints or other limitations. The programs have occurred from Montana to Texas to New York.
“Reflecting the Institute’s longstanding commitment to national service, the MIT4America Calculus Project supplies an innovative answer to a hard practical problem, and it taps the uncommon skill of the people of MIT to create opportunity for others,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement.
The university plans to continue its in-person summer calculus program and weekly video tutoring, but is also developing online tools.
Teachers report that students show increased confidence in their math abilities, according to the university.
The project is supported by a gift from the Siegel Family Endowment and was developed as a project in consultation with David Siegel, a computer scientist and entrepreneur who is chairman of the firm Two Sigma.
“We want it to have a lasting impact,” Claudia Urrea, an education scholar and co-director of the MIT4America Calculus Project, said in a statement. “It’s not just about students passing an exam, but having tutors who look like what the students want to be in the future, who are mentors, have conversations, and make sure the high school students are learning.”
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