By Aziah Siid
Some of the highest-paying jobs — data scientist, software engineer, actuary — require proficiency in mathematics. But every time a Black child is funneled into a lower level of math, made to feel like they’re “not a math person,” or taught by an unskilled teacher, it becomes less likely they’ll grow up and get one of those jobs
Indeed, math scores for Black 13-year-olds dropped a staggering 13 points between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years, according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data. That’s more than double the 6-point decline for white students over the same period.
Now, a new report from RAND pinpoints three reasons why K-8 students in public schools across the United States aren’t making progress in math: the grouping of students by achievement levels for mathematics instruction — also known as tracking — underqualified teachers, and the lack of effective supports for struggling students.
“K–12 public schools have long wrestled with the dilemma of ensuring that all children have equitable learning opportunities in mathematics while also attending to diverse needs that often require different instructional strategies and approaches,” the researchers wrote in the report, Elementary and Middle School Opportunity Structures That Factor into Students’ Math Learning.
The authors analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of principals and teachers to examine “school opportunity structures” that can impact K-8 students’ math learning experiences.
These structures don’t center on how much students have learned, but rather on the ways elementary and middle schools are organized on an administrative and instructional level to either help or hinder mathematics learning opportunities.
Trained, Certified, Knowledgeable Teachers
RAND’s findings suggest students who struggle in mathematics are less likely to get “certified, knowledgeable mathematics teachers.” They are typically not placed with teachers who have the most knowledge about math content or pedagogy, when those are exactly the teachers struggling students need most.
As Word In Black previously reported, “early career teachers are in majority-Black schools 47% more than in the majority-white schools.”
Only one in three U.S. principals, on average, reported “assigning students who are struggling to teachers with the most knowledge of mathematics pedagogy and content.”
Overall, middle school math teachers are seen by administrators as far more knowledgeable about math content and pedagogy than their elementary counterparts. But only about one-quarter of elementary principals indicated that all or nearly all of their teachers have deep knowledge of mathematics pedagogy and content.
Solution: States should provide more opportunities for teachers, especially at the elementary level, to deepen their math content knowledge and instructional skills.
The Tracking Trap
It’s common for schools to group students according to ability level — putting an eighth grader into regular algebra or honors algebra, for example. But moving up year-over-year is difficult, particularly if a Black student is automatically seen as having low mathematical ability because of their skin color. The report’s authors point out that previous research has found “tracking has some significant drawbacks: Black, Hispanic, and low-income children are disproportionately placed in lower-level tracks.”
The researchers found assessments and teacher recommendations were cited as grouping factors by the majority of principals across grade levels. The result? “Tracking likely limits mathematics learning opportunities for many students who might want to take higher-level courses but are not able to enroll in those courses.”
Akil Bello, an education expert at FairTest told Word In Black in 2022 that students end up having to pass Algebra 1 in seventh grade to be eligible to take calculus in their junior or senior year of high school. And if they can’t do that, or are similarly excluded from honors or advanced placement courses, that makes it less likely they’ll get into a competitive four-year college or university.
Solutions:
- Researchers recommend that districts and schools should look for ways to reduce bias in how students are grouped by achievement level for math classes.
- They also suggest schools work more closely with teachers, guidance counselors, parents, and students to make sure students are getting the challenge they want and need in their classes.
- Principals could “ask teachers to report at various times during the year whether all their students are receiving the appropriate level of challenge” and whether it might make sense to shift any students to a different track rather than grouping them all together throughout the year.
Student Supports
RAND’s researchers also set out to learn what kinds of supports are available for kids who aren’t catching on to math concepts — and are students getting the help they need?
Most principals reported offering support like interventions for struggling math students — tutoring, studying after school, or additional family engagement, for example. However, principals said only a quarter of students who need it actually receive that help.
Solution: School systems need to evaluate why some struggling math students don’t take advantage of the interventions and supports that are offered.
Overall, as the report’s authors note, these possible solutions “are aimed at helping leaders at the state, district, and school levels reflect on how schools support math learning and how school structures might be improved to set up all students for success in high school and beyond.”
This article was originally published on Word In Black .
