How Big Is Your State’s “Graduation Gap?”
In the Boston Globe last week, I had an op-ed about what I call the “graduation gap” in Massachusetts. Nearly nine out of ten students earn a high school diploma, while less than half of the state’s 10th graders are proficient in math.
The Math Problem Governors Aren’t Talking About
This year’s State of the State addresses had a clear theme: jobs, workforce, and economic competitiveness.
Illinois’ “Comprehensive Numeracy Plan” Has Very Little Math In It
Illinois’ draft Comprehensive Numeracy Plan starts with a strong statement that, “every student, in every classroom, deserves instruction that empowers them to be confident and capable mathematical thinkers.”
What Can States Do to Help Students Learn More Math?
Math scores have been in decline for the last decade, and a recent estimate found that boosting scores back to their 2013 levels would raise the average student’s total lifetime earnings by nearly 8%.
States are obscuring student math performance
The Center on Reinventing Public Education’s new State of the American Student 2025 report delivers a sobering verdict: most states are failing to give parents and the public a clear view of how students are doing in math.
Yes, Alabama! The kids can learn math.
By all recent accounts, the kids are not all right when it comes to learning math in this country.
The Gender Gap in Math Starts Early
Gender gaps in math start have been growing in recent years.
How Parents Support Math at Home
When my dad took us on long road trips as a kid, he would give my brother and I what he called “can problems.” Iowa used to have, and still has, a bottle deposit law where each returned soda can or bottle was worth a nickel.
Math Gaps Emerge Early. Students Deserve Early Interventions
Did you know that 3rd grade reading scores are highly predictive of later-life outcomes? It’s true. My favorite paper on this comes from Dan Goldhaber, Malcolm Wolff, and Tim Daly, who looked at how accurate early measures of achievement are in predicting longer-term academic outcomes. In a 2021 paper, they used data from North Carolina, Massachusetts […]
The Rise and Fall of 8th Grade Algebra
Algebra is a gateway toward more advanced mathematics courses, and passing the course in 8th grade is a strong predictor of future college success. All students can be math solvers, but students need opportunities to prove it. Unfortunately, schools have been limiting opportunities for students to take Algebra in 8th grade, and it shows up in a remarkable graph of […]