Commitment

State leadership can reshape the culture around math and open doors for the next generation of problem solvers.

Governors and state leaders are acting on a shared belief: every child can be good at math.
That commitment is showing up in policy. States are opening access to advanced coursework, putting high-quality materials in classrooms, strengthening support for teachers, and naming math achievement as a priority worth their political capital.

A National Call to Action

Mobilizing Pediatric and Public Health Leadership

Math achievement begins long before a child enters a classroom.

We screen young children for vision, hearing, and developmental milestones. Pediatricians hand parents a book and tell them to read together every day. There is no equivalent for numeracy. Nothing in the guidance families receive during the earliest years tells them that counting, comparing, and playing games builds the foundation for everything that follows.

Governors are asking the nation’s pediatric and public health leaders to close that gap. Their letter asks that the U.S. Surgeon General issue a recommendation encouraging regular numeracy-building play for young children, or that the American Academy of Pediatrics adopt formal guidance on age-appropriate numeracy play.

Board games, card games, and simple counting and comparison activities strengthen foundational skills, build confidence, and improve long-term readiness. Pediatric guidance made daily reading a norm in American homes. It can do the same for math.

Sign the petition

What States Can Do

Beyond culture-setting, state leaders can advance policies that raise student math achievement at scale.

We recommend six key strategies, backed by research and practice.

Learn More

6 Strategies

Expand access to high-quality instructional materials.
Provide educators with high-quality professional learning aligned with classroom materials.
Increase instructional time before, during, and after the school day.
Automatically enroll students into advanced math courses when they’re ready.
Hold teacher preparation programs accountable for equipping teachers with the math skills, content, and mindsets needed to succeed.
Leverage math coaches to help teachers to improve classroom practice.

States Advancing Strong State Policy

ALABAMA

Alabama’s Numeracy Act (SB171), passed in 2022, created the Office of Mathematics Improvement to monitor the implementation of mathematics screener assessments, diagnostic assessments, and formative assessments for grades K-5. It also requires all K-2 students to be assessed using an early numeracy screener and grades 4-5 students must be assessed by a fractional reading screener at least two times a year. The legislation also allocates one mathematics coach for every public K-5 school with a student population of less than 800, and two coaches for a school with a student population of 800 or more.

In 2023, the Arkansas legislature passed a sweeping education reform bill known as the LEARNS Act, which includes a provision requiring each public school district and open enrollment charter school to develop a math intervention plan in the ‘23-’24 school year for students in grades 3-8 who do not perform at or above grade level on the state assessment. The legislation further requires districts to report in the ‘24-’25 school year the types of interventions being used and the number of students using them..

Colorado’s SB23, passed this year, requires the Department of Education, by January 2024, to offer free optional training in evidence-informed practices in mathematics, including training specifically designed for elementary school educators and secondary school mathematics educators. The bill also creates a grant program for interventions to help students who are below grade level or struggling in mathematics, children with disabilities, and students who are English learners.

In May 2023, the Florida legislature passed a larger bill focused on literacy which includes a requirement for students in grades K-4 who show a “substantial deficiency in mathematics or dyscalculia” to receive support via intervention programs set out by the Department of Education and for parents to be notified of this support. It also requires districts to monitor these students’ performance and keep the parents updated and informed of performance progress.

In June 2023, the Louisiana legislature passed a bill that requires math teachers who teach grades 4-8 to take additional professional development related to numeracy; and requires districts to produce annual reports on the number of teachers who have successfully done so.

Since the passage of HB 986 in 2018, North Carolina has had automatic enrollment in advanced math courses for all qualified students, elementary through high school. Legislation requires that all students who score a level five (the highest level) on their end-of-grade tests in math be automatically placed in an advanced math class the following year.

Since implementation and after a 2019 update requiring more annual reporting by region and subgroups, enrollment for advanced math courses has increased in all grade levels where the courses are offered, and evidence has shown meaningful increases in low-income and minority students taking advanced math courses. In the critical years of 8th through 11th grade, more than 95% of eligible students are now being enrolled in advanced math courses. Additionally, more middle schools are now offering high school level math courses. Not only are the percentage of eligible students increasing, but the pool of eligible students is increasing. In the last two years, the number of eligible students increased from 29k to 58k.

Texas passed legislation in 2023 (SB 2124) aimed at increasing the number of students in advanced mathematics courses in middle school and high school. The bill requires each school district and charter school to develop an advanced math program for middle school students such that the top 40% performers on the 5th grade math assessment exam be automatically enrolled in advanced math courses for 6th grade. This puts these advanced students on track to take Algebra 1 in their 8th-grade year, opening the door for them to take advanced classes such as calculus in high school. The parent may opt out of this automatic enrollment for their child.

In April 2022, Virginia passed legislation (HB938) requiring the state Board of Education to convene a group of stakeholders to provide feedback to the General Assembly on a number of key education goals, specifically including promoting excellence in math instruction. The report, released in the summer of 2023, called for enacting mathematics instruction reform that will prioritize the “science of math” approach to teaching mathematics in grades K-8, supporting the expansion of teacher professional learning opportunities to ensure high quality mathematics instruction is provided to all students.  It also included recommendations to revise the state’s math standards, which now require the board to define “mastery” or proficiency for every grade level, that students have personalized mathematics pathways based on mastery and readiness, and that teachers determine the instructional sequence of the content that is best suited to meet the needs and goals of the student.

In March 2023, the West Virginia legislature passed HB 3035, known as the Third Grade Success Act, aimed at developing a multi-tiered system of support for early literacy and numeracy in kindergarten through grade 3. Among the math provisions, the bill requires the development of an “appropriate list of literacy and numeracy screening tools, the creation of individualized reading or mathematics improvement plans for students identified as having a deficiency in grades K-4, and participation in comprehensive training on the science of reading and numeracy instruction.

Join the Commitment

By elevating math as a priority — culturally and policy-wise — states can ensure that every student develops the confidence and competence to solve the challenges ahead.

For partnership inquiries or to discuss activation strategies in your state, contact Adam Ezring at [email protected].