Math = Success

Math skills are a strong predictor of success.

Gaps in math knowledge prevent students from achieving their full potential.

Our mission is to empower students to succeed.

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LA City Community College Summer Bridge 2024 Students
Image courtesy Growth Sector

The Issue

Only 40% of incoming community college freshmen students are prepared for college-level math

Only 20% of community college students successfully complete a transfer-level math course

Gaps in arithmetic and algebra are holding them back^*

^*Associated Press Report: College Students are still struggling with basic math. (2023)

We are on a mission to change that.

Hands on Arduino project at Community College of San Francisco - Summer Bridge 2024
Image courtesy Growth Sector

Mission & Values

Our mission

To empower every student to become confident and successful in math and science.

Our approach

Providing diagnostic services to accurately identify gaps in a student's foundational math skills.

Supporting educators with real-time data and resources to effectively address student needs and improve math confidence.

We believe

that math is an essential life-skill

that all students can learn math

in a nonjudgemental and affirming approach to learning.

that partnering with educators is essential to our success

in diversity in STEM classrooms and workplaces

Math Equity Matters

Math skills are life skills. Day-to-day occurrences such as grocery discounts, making change or comparing interest rates for a car loan require math understanding.

Unequal access to quality education can result in an incomplete mastery of basic math skills. Without these, students experience long-term, negative effects. Students of color and economically disadvantaged students are disproportionately impacted by these challenges.

Strong math foundations open pathways to many opportunities including STEM. In the next decade, STEM jobs are predicted to grow the fastest^* and will provide living-wage jobs and economic mobility.

^U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2019–29 employment projections*

OUR IMPACT

30+ community colleges, schools & after-school organizations

served in the last 5 years

5000+ Math diagnostic assessments

administered

RSE Foundations for College Algebra

RSE Foundations for College Pre-Calc

RSE Foundations for College Calculus

High School Foundations

Diagnostics

Engagement

Flexible Partnership Models

Integrate Ready.Set.Excel with your educational programs & priorities

Summer Programs

Ready.Set.Excel complements summer math intervention programs by establishing a baseline assessment for each student at the start. Analysis of results identifies topics needing attention across the class as well as for each student. We offer a compilation of supplemental teaching techniques,ideas and resources that have been found effective by other teachers. At the end of the session, a checkpoint assessment evaluates and analyzes progress and outcomes.

After-school tutoring

Ready.Set.Excel's baseline diagnostic provides detailed analysis of each student's strengths and gaps in foundational math topics. The recommended priorities can be used to streamline and focus after-school tutoring. We offer a compilation of supplemental teaching techniques, ideas and resources that have been found effective by other teachers. Interim checkpoint assessments track progress as students master each topic and gain confidence.

Customized Placement Testing

Correct placement in math and science classes gives students the opportunity to succeed, ensures a stable class composition and allows teachers to tackle curriculum at the right level. Ready.Set.Excel's tests can be customized to a school's needs by partnering with the teachers on requirements. The test results are another data point for placement discussions and evaluation.

TESTIMONIALS

“Working with RSE has been a transformative experience...” Show more

“Working with RSE has been a transformative experience for the students and teaching staff at TEL HI Neighborhood Center. RSE helped us integrate their diagnostic tool into how we teach our students and provided extremely valuable guidance and suggestions along the way. The results? Simply amazing with student comprehension of math skills improving by upto 65% and with all students who participated expressing a dramatic improvement with their comfort level in solving math problems. RSE is now a foundational piece of our math curriculum.” ...Show less

Nestor Fernandez, Executive Director, Tel Hi

"Ready Set Excel worked closely with our college success team.... Show more

"Ready Set Excel worked closely with our college success team and led the way in developing the first math readiness program in any local college success organization. RSE's diagnostics examined core fundamentals for subjects including pre-calc, stats, math for science, and algebra 2 for each student and provided detailed reports and individualized recommendations. Students gained access to a comprehensive guide and hours worth of learning materials the RSE team created to help strengthen skills in core subjects like polynomials, algebraic equations, and integers. With our cohort of students attending top aerospace engineering programs and nursing programs across the country and many others pursuing business, political science, or animal sciences with several UCs and CSUs, all of our students entered college with a better understanding of key resources to access, math classes to enroll in, and strategies to strengthen fundamentals for their respective institutions and majors. I am truly appreciative of RSE's student-centered philosophy." Show less

Terry Gutierrez, Sr College Bound Program Manager, Foundation for a College Education

"Ready.Set.Excel has empowered our summer programs ..." Show more

"Ready.Set.Excel has empowered our summer programs for 6th-8th grade to tailor and focus our curriculum to individual student needs. We have seen tremendous growth in our students' ability to access and use math fundamentals when solving both larger math problems and during their work in the math and science classrooms" Show less

Elaine Barry, Director of Sophie's Scholars Program & Barat College Access Fund

"Ready.Set.Excel's founders are committed to math equity" Show more

"With all of the math support options out there, it's helpful to know that RSE is more than just a math assessment. The RSE diagnostic helps students (and their teachers and parents) understand missing math knowledge, and makes a plan to address the learning gaps. Ready.Set.Excel's founders are committed to math equity and to ensuring that math becomes a tool students can use in their everyday lives." Show less

Mindy Rogers, Philanthropist

Thank you, Ready.Set.Excel! Show more

Thank you, Ready.Set.Excel! Our math readiness for chemistry placement was seamless, supporting the needs of all students by suggesting the course that was mathematically, conceptually, and appropriately challenging!" Show less

Sharon Sikora, Teacher, Sacred Heart Prep

Data Driven Results

Partnering for Success

Since 2023, RSE has partnered with Growth Sector, a national non-profit focused on developing the workforce of the future,to prepare students in community colleges for high-quality STEM pathways and careers. RSE collaborated with Growth Sector's Summer Bridge program for incoming community college freshmen across the United States to improve math readiness.

Customized Diagnostics

Immediate results to enable instructors to tailor program focus for each cohort

Focus on Foundations

Prerequisite skills critical for each college math class success

Identify Outliers

Enable differentiated instruction for needier and advanced students

Evaluate Program Impact

Track longitudinal student progress year over year to assess program impact and spend efficiency

Pre- & Post- Scores

Measure individual student progress and assess remaining needs

Improve Math Readiness

Address math gaps and reinforce math skills for college math preparedness

Our supporters

Stanley S.Langendorf Foundation

Rogers Family Foundation

Roots Family Foundation

Timeline

Amazing Journey

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Final project presentation, Evergreen Valley College, San Jose - Summer Bridge 2024
Image courtesy Growth Sector

Support

Make a Positive Impact

Your contribution helps us provide programs and support to empower students to succeed in STEM pathways in college and careers. By building skills and self-confidence in math, we hope to change a student's mindset from "I'm not a math person" to “I got this!”

About

Our Short Story

The idea for Ready.Set.Excel began with three parents and a high school science teacher. Each school year, the teacher witnessed the impact of missing math concepts on students’ success in high school science classes and indirectly, on college acceptance. The parents (all engineers), experienced first hand the importance of math for success in STEM careers. They understood that a common issue holding students back from succeeding in science and engineering: gaps in understanding key math concepts taught in elementary, middle and early high school. This led to many conversations with educators about where students struggle and what might help them move forward which resulted in the creation of RSE.

We partner with other non-profits and educators to identify and address gaps in foundational math that hold back students pursuing STEM pathways in community colleges. Life circumstances and demanding schedules preclude students from opportunities to receive remediation. Students that participate in our programs leave with improved math skills, and more importantly, increased confidence in their math ability.

Team

RSE

Maya Srinivasan

President & Founder

Asavari Ukidve

Vice-President & Founder

Case Studies

Successful Pilots

Opening gateways to science

High school summer program

School: Sacred Heart Preparatory, Atherton,CA
RSE Goals: To identify students requiring intervention support, diagnose their specific needs in preparation for high school and evaluate individual student progress at the end of the program.
Date: Summer 2019
Outcomes: As a result of the hands-on, activity-based program, overall student test scores increased by an average of 11%. Student attitude and participation levels dramatically improved. Some students were overwhelmed to see their own progress.

Middle school summer program

Schools: Students from multiple Bay Area middle schools
RSE Goals: To establish baseline skills & gaps assessment for rising 6th,7th & 8th graders for longitudinal tracking, evaluate individual student progress and remaining gaps at the end of summer.
Date: Summer 2019
Outcomes: Baseline analysis highlighted grade-wide and individual student gaps. The analyses identified struggling students and those ready for more advanced challenges. Persistent topic gaps across all three grade levels provided the program data for curriculum improvements.

High school science placement

School: Sacred Heart Preparatory, Atherton,CA
RSE Goals: To assess student readiness for advanced high school science classes focussed on required math skills to provide the school an additional data point for placement evaluation and discussions.
Date: Spring 2018 & 2019
Outcomes: Placement test results were an effective neutral communication tool supporting the school's placement recommendations with students and parents. Once classes were formed, they were more stable with significantly less drop out than in prior years.

Learn more about how we can partner with you

Ask about a pilot program

contact@readysetexcel.org

The Issue

Only 40% of incoming community college freshmen students are prepared for college-level math

Only 20% of community college students successfully complete a transfer-level math course

Gaps in arithmetic and algebra are holding them back*

We are on a mission to change that.

When students don’t have mastery of foundational math skills, more advanced math concepts become impossible to grasp.

Math skills are a strong predictor of high-school and college success and gaps in students' math understanding can prevent students from pursuing STEM careers.

By strengthening students' math foundations, we help open pathways that were previously closed.

Hands on Arduino project at Community College of San Francisco - Summer Bridge 2024Image courtesy Growth Sector