Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research conducted a study of over two-million students, finding that remote and hybrid learning led to even lower performance in math, according to race and school poverty levels (Goldhaber, Kane, McEachin, Morton, Patterson, and Staiger, 2022).
They wrote, “high-poverty districts that went remote in 2020-21 will need to spend nearly all of their federal aid on academic recovery to help students recover from pandemic-related achievement losses.” Few people are sounding the alarm regarding the multi-decade failure of educational leaders to ensure an equitable, engaging, and empowering math experience for historically underserved students.
What are the implications for these longstanding outcomes? Let’s start with some current issues students of color currently face.
Barriers to Upper-Level Mathematics Pipeline –
Many students of color are prohibited or opt not to pursue advanced-level courses. Due to challenges in elementary, middle, and entry-level high school courses, and uninspiring math teachers higher math courses are usually not on their radar. Certain high schools routinely place Black, Latino, and American Indian/Indigenous 9th graders in entry-level math courses. For example, these students are more likely to be placed in Integrated Math 1 or Algebra 1 without considering their past middle school performance or potential to thrive in Integrated Math 2 or Geometry as first-year students. Consequently, they rarely have the opportunity to enroll in Advanced Placement Calculus or Honors Pre-Calculus courses by their senior year. Often, their parents/caregivers are unaware that tracking still exists in public schools and are not given agency, voice, or the necessary information to advocate for their child.
Limited Access to STEM-based College and Career Opportunities –
Students of color are most underprepared to pursue post-secondary STEM college and career pathways (e.g., Computer Science, Pre-Med, Electrical Engineering). These majors and careers require a strong mathematics foundation. Furthermore, many 21st-century college and career opportunities rely on mathematical thinking. Black, Latino, and American Indian/Indigenous students are often in classroom spaces that do not support or increase their capacity to think critically and innovatively.
Students Lack Confidence in their Math Abilities – A student’s belief in their ability is fundamental to their success in math. Students are brilliant and highly capable of thriving in a rigorous course of study. However, due to enduring years of lackluster math instruction, some resolve mathematics is not for them. Their parents/caregivers often share these sentiments, having had similar negative experiences as students, resulting in generations of individuals who have a disdain for math.
By now you may be asking, what can be done to begin to bridge the academic gap for students of color?
Several school districts and charter organizations have collaborated with Village Life Education to enhance their math practices through the Math Literacy Project such as Adelanto Elementary School District, Banning Unified School District, Dayton Public Schools, and ISANA Academies just to name a few.
Over 200 teachers were engaged in culturally responsive practices, student-centered lesson planning, and strategies to build a content-rich experience. The impact was immediate and heartfelt as teachers shared their appreciation for a platform to probe the research on math identity and a safe space to ask critical questions about what they can do to engage students in meaningful ways (Martin, 2012).
One hundred percent of past participants now have access to a repository of resources, activities, and websites to make their lessons fun, impactful, and exciting for students. Teachers were encouraged to enhance their classroom design to ensure the contributions of Black, Latino, and Women of Color innovators are brought to the fore. Furthermore, each teacher was asked to build math word walls, developing the academic language of their learners for the current school Year.
The Math Literacy Project emphasized Cognitive Demand Tasks and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy as frameworks for more engaging students. These frames allow for student collaboration, encouraging student voice (and agency), and inspiring them to grapple with and embrace the challenges associated with various challenging word problems. The teachers participated in several math tasks, working together to solve problems and experience first-hand what it is like to collaborate and grapple together (Boaler, 2020).
In the end, Village Life Education administered a post-project survey to assess the impact of the work on high-impact practices. Here is what one participant had to say –
“I think the overall message delivered by Dr. Kirkwood is powerful, and so many teachers can benefit from the message because they need to switch their own mindsets from one centered on memorizing algorithms to one centered on perseverance, problem-solving, and mathematical thinking.”
After our survey, we found that Ninety-five (95%) percent of participants are more committed to student-centered instruction, and over 85% feel more knowledgeable about the research and the importance of helping students develop a mathematical mindset, marking a four or five on a five-point Likert scale. Approximately 75% of participants stated they are more knowledgeable (ranking a four or five) about developing or accessing resources to implement High Cognitive Demand tasks, with thirty percent (30%) feeling somewhat comfortable. Finally, 90.5% indicated they are more likely to include culturally responsive practice when creating math lessons, e.g., academic language support, cognitive demand, and community-based funds of knowledge.
“This year’s math cohort was such a positive game changer for me. I’m totally committed this summer to utilize the resources you have provided to maximize improving my lesson plans, which in turn will bring more opportunity for my students to love engaging math learning.”
Ready to bring this type of out-of-the-box thinking and framework for learning into your schools? Then it’s time to gather your team and reach out to Villiage Life Education! Let’s discuss how bringing the Math Literacy Project to your community can begin to position your students and staff for positive math growth this school year.