#966: Is calculus king? Rethinking math pathways, with Matt Giani

Matt Giani Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. David Griffith, Ph.D.

4.23.2025

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Matt Giani, professor and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, joins Mike and David to discuss whether there’s a one-size-fits-all math pathway for students, as explored in Calculus or Statistics: Does It Matter?—a new study he coauthored for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber shares a study that examines whether Indiana’s statewide private school voucher program has had any competitive effects on public school student outcomes.

Recommended content:

Matt Giani, Franchesca Lyra, and Adam Tyner. Calculus or Statistics: Does it Matter?, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (April 2025).
Heena Kuwayama and Adam Tyner. Advanced Math Pathways in New England, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (April 2025).
The National Working Group on Advanced Education, Building a Wider, More Diverse Pipeline of Advanced Learners, Thomas B. Fordham Institute (June, 2023).
Anna J. Egalite and Andrew D. Catt, Effects of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program on Public School Students’ Achievement and Graduation Rates, Sage Journals (2025)

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Policy Priority:

High Expectations

Matt Giani is a Research Associate in the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute and an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. His research examines policies, practices, and interventions that promote social mobility and reduce socioeconomic stratification in K12 and higher education, particularly those that promote college access and success of low-income students. His methodological expertise in quantitative methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental techniques used to support causal inference in educational research. Dr. Giani has extensive experience using national and statewide longitudinal data, including the Education Research Center (ERC) at UT Austin

President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

Amber Northern is senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she supervises the Institute’s robust research portfolio and…

David Griffith is the National Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he manages or authors reports on various subjects including charter schools, …