This brief is part of a continuing series for California education leaders on key policy issues related to teachers and teaching. With California in the process of revising its K-12 math framework and with educators and students grappling with lost instructional time during the COVID-19 pandemic, now is an opportune moment to examine ways to…

This knowledge brief is part of a continuing series designed to inform California education leaders about key policy issues related to teachers and teaching in the Golden State. The brief outlines the current policy environment surrounding math instruction in California, summarizes California information from a nationwide teacher survey on…

Mathematics is typically perceived as an objective subject due to its clarity and linearity. If this is accepted as true, then students of any race, ethnicity, gender, or class should have access to high-quality culturally responsive instruction in mathematics. Because this is not always the case, we explore strategies that special education…

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) were awarded an Investing in Innovation (i3) Development grant in 2015 to investigate the impact of an early education mathematics program on English Learner students at two rural school districts in Riverside, CA. Teaching English Learners…

When CME Group Foundation (CME) was formed in 2007 with an endowment from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trust, its founders set out to engage in grantmaking that would improve education from cradle to career and strengthen the region's economy. During its first decade, nearly a quarter of CME's grants targeted early childhood education with an…

This report includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2019-2020 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic programs serving students in middle and high school and describes APIE support provided to teachers' instruction. As classroom instruction…

It has been a decade since the article "Math Links: Building Learning Communities in Urban Settings" (referenced throughout as Math Links) was published in the inaugural issue of the "Journal of Urban Mathematics Education" ("JUME"; Leonard & Evans, 2008). The Math Links study, as reported in that article,…

In August, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released the grimmest "Nation's Report Card" in 20 years. Between 2020 and 2022, America's students dropped five points in reading and seven points in math. At a time when there is empirical evidence that America's students are struggling -- the NAEP scores are just one…

The recruitment, development and retention of teachers and school leaders is a crucial underpinning for a successful education system. Ensuring there are sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers employed in schools is necessary for the school system to deliver a high-quality education for all children and young people, particularly as the…

A large number of students in American public schools attend rural schools. In this paper, the authors explore rural science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and the issues associated with STEM education for students, teachers, and parents in rural communities. Characteristics of rural STEM education are examined to highlight…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

In this paper, I consider a pervasive myth in mathematics education, that of Plato-formalism. I show that this myth is ahistorical, acultural, and harmful, both for mathematics and for society. I argue that, as teachers, we should reject the myth of Plato-formalism and instead understand mathematics as a human activity. This philosophy humanizes…

At a national level, the supply of teachers has remained stable in recent years--however, at the state and local level, school districts have been wrestling with long-standing teacher shortages in a number of specific fields, including science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects; career and technical education (CTE); bilingual…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) was published in 2010 and includes a complete collection of standards that are published and reviewed as a "common core" in which math skills have been extensively adopted. The recommendations provided have been entirely or partially adapted by more than 47 states of the US.…

Teaching in an inner city school requires classroom management, resilience, and most importantly strategies to promote learning and growth. There is a constant need for acceleration in student growth in core subjects, especially Math. A blended learning model can be an effective option for schools to personalize learning experiences for students…