Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Universal goals can be achieved through targeted approaches
The K-12 team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a focus on Algebra 1 as a critical milestone in adolescent academic achievement. Through Balance the Equation, the first Education Grand Challenge in the US, the team aimed to radically shift the culture of a traditional Algebra classroom in order to build mathematical proficiency, nurture a healthy self-identity, and improve equity of access for all priority students.
This Target Product Profile (TPP) was developed to provide a specific guidance to reviewers on key areas of intervention for Algebra 1 to inform grade-level (8th or 9th grade) solutions.
WebsiteteamSubstantial — Seattle, WA
DESIGN
Brit Zerbo, Designer
Sheryl Cababa, VP of Strategy
Wilma Lam, Design Researcher
CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
Magda Isack, Engagement Manager
ServicesVisual Design
Digital & Print Document
Illustration
Year2020
About the Challenge
Balance the Equation: An Algebra 1 Grand Challenge is a call to disrupt the deeply imbalanced forces again this generation-and previous generations-of priority students as it relates to their Algebra 1 experience in 8th or 9th grade, in-class or online.
Through this Grand Challenge, the Gates Foundation’s goal is to not only bring balance to an exclusionary system that has by design, stratified these students and tarnished the beauty of key mathematical concepts, but rather overshoot and stack the Algebra system in favor of their unique gifts and boundless capabilities. By focusing intentionally on priority students’ math experience—and they acknowledge there is no prototypical student—the Gates Foundation is aligning to their beliefs that ‘universal goals can be achieved through targeted approaches’.
Target Product Profile (TPP)
A Target Product Profile (TPP) has typically been an external facing set of conditions to support a Grand Challenge—historically within Global Health and Development problems—that outlines minimum requirements. The TPP usually covers key dimensions such as cost, quality, features, and implementation criteria.
This TPP version was developed by a small team at Substantial in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s K-12 team with contributions from over 50 different stakeholders, including students, teachers, and subject matter experts (SMEs).
This document is a tool to aid the internal K-12 team and those involved in the application review process for the Balance the Equation Grand Challenge. It is our hope that this document sits alongside the submissions rubric to empower reviewers in their decision-making endeavors to more efficiently determine which applications can elevate and transform the experience of Algebra 1 for priority students.
