Dive Brief:

• The NewSchools Ignite program, an offshoot of the philanthropic NewSchools Venture Fund, revealed Tuesday that its latest initiative will tackle middle and high school math.

• The "no strings attached" Middle and High School Math Learning Challenge is now accepting applications from ed tech startups for grants that will finance new solutions aimed at closing gaps in secondary math.

• The winners will receive from $50,000 to $150,000, based on the stage of their product, a two-day retreat meant to provide educational and networking opportunities, and advisory meetings with educators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders.

Dive Insight:

Administrators may want to keep an eye out for the winners. With recently released OECD data showing little to no improvement in math and reading for U.S. students between 2003 and 2012, any solutions coming out of this program that look particularly promising will be worth their consideration.

According to TechCrunch, specific criteria for the program include focus on specific, educator-identified student needs; wide socioeconomic accessibility; student empowerment; support for teachers' classroom delivery of the material; and scalability.