Lindsey Henderson is the Policy Director for Math policy at ExcelinEd.
Mathematics is not just an academic subject—it is a vital life skill that changes career opportunities, economic prospects and gives us the ability to navigate the world quantitatively.
Despite its importance, the state of mathematics education in the U.S. reveals a troubling reality. Declines in math performance across various assessments, coupled with the pervasive belief that some people are born inclined to understand math and that others are not, reveal an enormous opportunity to ensure all students have access to quality mathematics instruction.
ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy provides a crucial framework for achieving this goal and allowing all students the opportunity to become “math people.”
According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), eighth-grade mathematics scores have declined in nearly every state, with only 26% of eighth graders reaching proficiency—down from 34% in 2019. Fourth graders fared slightly better but still saw declines, with just over a third scoring proficient, a drop of five percentage points from 2019.
Internationally, the situation is equally alarming. The latest results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked U.S. teenagers 28th out of 37 participating countries in mathematics. Only 66% of U.S. students performed at a basic level, with a significant portion falling short of proficiency.
Couple this with the cultural perception of math, which is regularly the subject of sarcastic social media quips:
These data points and memes underscore a critical issue: American students are lagging in mathematics, and math is seen as a subject that is reserved exclusively for the elusive “math people” –something that neuroscience has shown time and time again is a myth.
A solid foundation in mathematics is essential for a student’s future academic and career success and builds the skills necessary for making sense of the world and making informed life decisions. To address the opportunities that exist to enhance mathematics education and prepare students for a future where quantitative skills are increasingly critical, states must adopt a comprehensive approach.
Beginning with the belief that all students are capable of mathematical excellence, ExcelinEd’s K-8 Mathematics Policy offers an evidence-based policy framework that encompasses six fundamental principles, each addressing a key part of an effective mathematics system.
Student access to high-quality instructional materials is a cornerstone of math learning. States should ensure that schools adopt high-quality, standards-aligned materials that cover essential mathematical content, the knowledge that students are learning, and the ways that mathematicians think.
High-quality materials support evidence-based ways of learning and teaching mathematics, including opportunities to build rich understandings of mathematical principles, fluency—including flexibility—with mathematical procedures and ways to apply math to everyday life situations
States must prioritize and invest in identifying materials aligned to state mathematics standards that simultaneously develop conceptual understanding, computational fluency and real-world application and require schools and district leaders to select materials from the state adoption list.
The state adoption list should require core materials and materials for intervention and extension.
Well prepared teachers and teacher-leaders are essential to delivering high-quality mathematics instruction. States should offer and invest in professional learning that is evidence-based, comprehensive, sustained over time, embedded into the profession and inclusive of both teachers and teacher-leaders, such as principals, district mathematics specialists and mathematics coaches.
State-level professional learning should be voluntary for those wanting to learn more and required for schools/districts who are not meeting certain criteria—such as a school’s summative exam scores or growth percentile for mathematics. To maximize opportunity, all state-level professional learning should be thoughtful about the structure—in-person, remote, or hybrid—and should be incentivized with ongoing learning credits that educators can use toward re-licensure or other professional opportunities.
Ensuring that teacher preparation programs at the state and local levels prepare teacher candidates to have the mathematical knowledge and skills to teach all students math is essential, as is the opportunity for pre-service mathematics teachers to learn high-level mathematics content in learning environments that model evidence-based instructional practices. Click here to view our model policy.
Assessments, such as early screeners, play a crucial role in monitoring student progress, celebrating mathematical excellence, showing areas where more support or extension is needed and providing information to adjust and personalize instruction and interventions.
ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy advocates for assessments that align with evidence-based ways of knowing mathematics—such as balancing procedural fluency and conceptual understanding—and mathematics screening/progress monitoring that includes prompt, open lines of communication among students, parents/caregivers and teachers.
This allows for personalized interventions or extensions when needed and fosters a collaborative effort between educators and families to support student mathematical success.
Consistent, daily math instruction is vital for building a strong mathematics foundation in students. ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy calls for a dedicated block of time for core mathematics learning experiences coupled with dedicated time for targeted interventions and extensions. This ensures all students have access to the necessary instruction while also providing time for more personalized student intervention (both extension and intervention) to those who need it.
Learning happens both in and out of the classroom which is why engaging families with their students’ mathematics education is essential to reinforcing learning.
ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy recommends regular communication of resources for families to celebrate a student’s mathematical successes and to provide intervention and/or remediation activities for parents and caregivers. These resources help families understand their student’s progress and provide tools for supporting robust mathematics learning outside the classroom.
For too long, many students who should have been in advanced math opportunities were not given access to those courses. An automatic enrollment policy ensures that students have access to a mathematics course that is appropriately challenging and enriching and requires no additional registration paperwork or meetings.
ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy recommends, from middle school to high school, that when a student scores “highly proficient” in mathematics content on end-of-year exams, they are automatically enrolled in advanced math courses. Advanced mathematics opportunities allow individual students to move through math course sequences at a faster pace.
For example, students usually take algebra (or its equivalent) in high school. With automatic enrollment in advanced mathematics opportunities, students may take algebra or its equivalent in middle school so that in high school, students can eventually take college–level courses for credit, often through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Concurrent Enrollment and/or Dual Enrollment.
Algebra is one of the most critical components of math education; it serves as a gateway to more advanced mathematical concepts and many career opportunities.
Proficiency in algebra is linked to problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and the ability to tackle complex real-world problems. Algebra also lays the groundwork for higher-level mathematics subjects like Calculus, Data Science, Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning, which are each essential to different fields of study such as engineering, computer science, business, finance and the humanities.
It is critical that states provide guidance for curriculum choice (see Fundamental Principle #1), making sure there is a balance between building procedural fluency with conceptual understanding and ensuring that students can connect what they are learning with the world around them.
Mastering algebra enhances quantitative academic and life skills and improves career prospects. Many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers require a strong understanding of algebraic concepts, and proficiency in mathematics can significantly affect employability and future income potential. A strong K-8 mathematics policy ensures that students are set up for success in algebra and beyond.
As students advance through the education system, they should have opportunities to explore math courses aligned with their interests and aspirations.
High schools are increasingly offering specialized mathematics classes, such as Calculus, Statistics, Discrete Mathematics and Data Science, all of which cater to various student interests. This approach encourages students to make choices about the mathematics that they want to engage with and keeps engagement high by connecting mathematics learning to their interests.
Introducing data science concepts in high school is particularly important given the growing demand for data science skills in the job market.
A recent ExcelinEd report highlights that one in five U.S. job postings now requires data science skills, with higher demand leading to increased wages. Teaching data science in high school equips students with valuable data-skills that are transferable across various industries while enhancing competitiveness in the job market.
Utah’s High School Data Science Pilot has provided students with a rigorous and fun mathematics course where teachers exclaim, “I like NOT getting the question [from students] of, when am I going to use this?” while students see an opening to opportunity “I am a first-generation college student and the first to go in my family. I enrolled in the course to earn a required math credit, but it’s been unlike any other math course I have taken… it is actually fun.”
The stakes are high when it comes to mathematics education. As we move forward into an increasingly complex and technologically advanced world, a strong K-8 mathematics policy is essential for modern students.
ExcelinEd’s Mathematics Policy offers a clear, actionable framework for states to provide all students with a high-quality mathematical learning environment that will prepare them for future success in all aspects of life.
By focusing on high-quality instructional materials, professional development, assessments, consistent instruction and effective communication with families, states can transform mathematics education and ensure that all students can become confident, capable mathematicians. The time to act is now—let’s pave the way for a future where every student can confidently say, “I am a math person.”
Learn more: Comprehensive K-8 Mathematics Policy
