Math proficiency has sharply declined across the nation, and recent data shows that many Massachusetts students are entering higher education unprepared for the mathematical demands of college, careers, and beyond

In this brief, EdTrust and Just Equations explore why high-achieving Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds who take and pass Algebra I in eighth grade still end up taking advanced math courses in high school at lower rates than their peers.

Nearly every state includes measures of college- and career-readiness in their accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act,…