A significant overhaul in the area of mathematics is needed for elementary-level teacher preparation programs, according to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality, as reported in The 74. Inadequate prep has many educators ill-equipped to teach critical topics — and leaves children not up to the task in the difficult subject of math.
Among the report’s findings:
- Only 21 states provide clear, detailed guidance to teacher preparation programs about what they should teach regarding numbers and operations, algebraic thinking, geometry and measurement, and data analysis and probability. All are critical to teachers’ and students’ success, according to the researchers.
- 24 states offer no recommendation as to which materials districts should be using in the classroom, a missed opportunity to suggest the best possible curricula for young children.
“We found that across the country, states can do much more to better prepare elementary teachers to teach math,” says NCTQ President Heather Peske.
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, released in January and often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, showed math scores were flat for eighth graders and up slightly for fourth graders, with gains mostly going to high achievers.
- Alabama is a notable exception in its approach, making improvements to math instruction on multiple fronts, including in teacher training programs and the use of high-quality instructional materials.
Alabama updated all of its standards around teacher training and added a new master’s degree, that of an elementary math specialist. Fourth-grade Alabama NAEP scores rose six points between 2022 and 2024 and were just a single point below the national average.
- States have the authority to set standards for teacher preparation programs, but 16 outsource that work, frequently to national organizations that don’t always focus on the teaching of mathematics.
- Many states don’t require teacher prep programs to address the knowledge and skills teachers need to teach math concepts, despite the long-recognized benefits to students.
- Many of the 30 elementary math licensure tests used across the country are week — 31 states offer “unacceptable” or “weak” licensure tests.
- Iowa and Maine have none at all.
- Only 10 tests were “acceptable” by NCTQ. All paid adequate attention to numbers and operations, algebraic thinking, geometry and measurement and data analysis and probability.
- Thirteen states — Alabama, Connecticut and Texas among them — require a “strong” and “acceptable” test for all elementary math teacher candidates.
- Only six tests were deemed “strong” and are used exclusively in five states: Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Alabama and New York.
- Three tests were deemed “unacceptable” because they omit one or more math content topic areas — but they are used in nine states: Michigan, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
- Just 21 states make the passing rates on their elementary math licensure test public. This makes it difficult to identify those that have failed to offer robust programs.
- Many states have their academic goals negatively affected by limited budgets. Just 24 states provide funding for math curriculum materials.
- Nearly 60% of the potential impact of adopting high-quality curricula depends on teachers improving their instructional practices.
Louisiana schools have used high-quality instructional materials for math and English language arts for more than a decade, but it wasn’t enough to improve student achievement, according to State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley.
The state now requires all fourth- through eighth-grade math teachers to complete a 50-hour numeracy course — teachers in younger grades will soon have to meet a similar requirement. Districts are free to select their own curriculum, but the state’s rating system encouraged many to pick what it considers the best offerings.
Louisiana also invested $100 million in tutoring programs in recent years.
“We have made really good progress,” Brumley says. “But what happens in Louisiana is the same as what happens across the country: As students matriculate from 4th to 8th grade, academic performance declines. Our intent is to be the first state to correct that issue in math.
“We are also refreshing our math standards with great emphasis on foundational math skills in the early grades,” he adds. “We talk about fluent readers but we don’t talk enough about fluent mathematicians — and that needs to change.”
The 74
