NASBE publishes “The Urgent Need for Tailored Math Instruction”
May 23, 2022
“The Urgent Need for Tailored Math Instruction,” an article co-authored by New Classrooms (creators of Teach to One), is featured as part of the 2022 edition of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) Standards. In this edition of the journal, subject-matter experts share their insights on advancing math and science instruction. New Classrooms contributes thoughts on what’s changed (and what hasn’t) as a result of the pandemic, and addresses the challenges and opportunities this moment in education present.
The article focuses on the systemic barrier of a grade-level focus to improving math achievement, saying, “the grade-level-or-bust playbook turns a temporary state of academic deficit into a permanent one.” Research from the ACT shows the chance of a student who was “far off track” in eighth-grade math only had a 3 percent chance of reaching college readiness by the end of high school.
The article goes on to cite findings from implementations of Teach to One to address key foundational gaps, and how the emphasis a school placed on grade-level content played a role in how fair tailored acceleration could go towards getting students back on track.
“A 2019 study [of Teach to One] looking at student progress found that students in schools that emphasized pregrade and grade-level exposure that met students’ zone of proximal development made stronger gains than those focused solely on grade-level material.”
What’s the state policymaker’s role in centering a math instruction approach on the unique needs of each student? This, and more, in the full article.