The latest federal assessment shows that states are struggling to improve K-12 math scores, which are in the tank nationwide.
The National Assessment of Education Progress report from September found that nearly half of high school seniors are testing below basic levels in math, and only 22 percent are performing at or above proficiency standards.
While there is no single solution to what ails math education and student performance, any solution should focus on improving the math curriculum. The materials and approaches that teachers use to convey and instill math concepts are often cited as outdated and inconsistent with how high-achieving nations teach math to K-12 students.
Several states are taking steps to improve their math curriculum. One of those is California, which, because of its status as the most populous state, has an outsize influence on the others.
California recently took a significant step to reverse years of educational decline when its state board of education approved a list of high-quality math instructional materials for K-12 classrooms.
The potential long-term effect on the state’s 5.5. million students and the state writ large is big. While it better prepares all students for the complex and competitive world ahead, strong math instruction fuels local innovation, attracts employers and strengthens the economic backbone of communities.
“This is the first time in 10 years California school districts have the opportunity to adopt new, high-quality math materials,” the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce Foundation said in a statement. Using a high-quality curriculum “is key to students’ academic success and is 40 times more cost-effective than class-size reduction in improving student outcomes.”
The upgrade in math learning materials, which still must be enacted by each school district, can’t come soon enough. Despite educators’ tireless work, math achievement in California, as in many states, has remained stubbornly low. For students of color, those from low-income backgrounds and English learners, the numbers are more troubling.
Only two states perform lower than California in 8th-grade math. Achievement gaps are staggering — more than 40 percentage points separate the performance of economically disadvantaged students and their peers, while Black and Hispanic students lag more than 30 points behind White counterparts. These disparities represent lost opportunities for college, careers and social mobility.
The economics of math fluency reinforce California’s push for better math instruction. From healthcare to construction to advanced technology, math skills are essential to nearly every fast-growing field. And the salaries for math-related occupations far exceed others. The median annual wages for math occupations are more than double those of all occupations, $99,590 vs. $46,310. And their projected growth in employment is substantial over the next decade, 30 percent vs. 3 percent.
High-quality instructional materials are distinct. The Carnegie Corp. defines the term as instructional materials that include specific learning goals and lessons aligned to content standards, “student-centered approaches to inquiry-based learning, research-based teaching strategies, teacher support materials” and assessments “to effectively help teachers implement instructional units and courses that are integrated, coherent and sequenced.”
A study from the Rand Corp. validated the approach for increasing student learning.
“Although instructional materials by themselves cannot be expected to lead to student learning, a growing body of evidence suggests that use of instructional materials that are high quality, accompanied by professional learning supports, is associated with improvements in student achievement,” the Rand report concluded.
In a seal of approval, the Rand study said that districts using high-quality materials and the right professional supports for teachers “have great potential for shifting teaching and learning at scale.”
As the largest state economy, California is making a powerful effort to reverse its math failure because grounding children in math concepts better prepares them for the myriad economic opportunities. Too many students nationwide still lack access to the kind of consistent, high-quality math instruction that opens doors to these opportunities.
For California, that is changing.