Abstract
Racial disparities, whether in terms of student outcomes or faculty representation, are a persistent feature of the field of mathematics education (Battey & Leyva, 2016; Martin, 2009). To counter this trend, Transitioning Learners to Calculus I in Community Colleges (TLC3; Burn, Mesa, Wood, & Zamani-Gallaher, 2016) brings together an interdisciplinary research team to help mathematics programs identify and remove barriers for students of color in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) mathematics pathway. In the context of community colleges, the STEM mathematics pathway includes initial mathematics placement and mathematics courses that can range from developmental mathematics to calculus I and II. The purpose of this article is to present and highlight institutional practices implemented at African American enrolling community colleges. We focus on three areas of practice explored in the TLC3 national survey of community college mathematics chairs: mathematics placement, STEM mathematics courses, and the use of local data (Burn, Mesa, Wood, & Zamani-Gallaher, 2018). To center the analysis on students of color, we disaggregate the TLC3 national survey data by quintiles based on the percentage of African American student enrollment (Table 1). To explicate how mathematics placement, STEM mathematics courses, and use of local data interacted in practice, we supplement the analysis with case study data collected from a Predominately Black Institution (PBI), Haynes College (a pseudonym),1 that enrolls 54% African American students. This article is most useful to faculty and administrators working to close racial equity gaps in the STEM mathematics pathway by allowing them to situate their efforts and institutions amongst national data and the case study.