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Middle years math

We invest in bold ideas and practices seeking to significantly improve the trajectory of student learning outcomes in mathematics through long-term innovation, research, and development. Centered on the needs of students who are Black, Latino, and/or experiencing poverty in grades 3-9, our investments are designed to build inclusive learning environments, strengthen teacher practice, and ensure students are engaged and challenged in math.

A Target Program Profile for Middle Years Math Tutoring

In partnership with Intentional Futures and50 different stakeholders (including providers, educators, students, and parents), and building on the strong tutoring evidence base, this profile focuses specifically on understanding effective tutoring in mathematics in grades three through nine for students who are Black, Latino, and/or experiencing poverty. Learn more about the seven drivers key to implementing effective, sustainable tutoring programs.

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We seek to ensure that Black and Latino students and students experiencing poverty know, use, and enjoy mathematics so they are on track for high school success. We adopt the National Academies’ field consensus from Adding It Up: Children Learn Mathematics (2001) on what it means for a student to be proficient in mathematics (conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition).
Today, Algebra 1 serves as a gatekeeper, rather than a gateway, to future success. This is one of the reasons the United States has lagged behind other countries in mathematical proficiency for decades. And students who are Black, Latino, and/or experiencing poverty have been disproportionately affected. This is not for a lack of student assets or efforts; rather, these are systemic challenges that this strategy seeks to address. By focusing intentionally on the mathematics experience of these students—and we acknowledge there is no prototypical student—we are aligning to our belief that “universal goals can be achieved through targeted approaches.”
New solutions are enabling all students, especially those who are Black, Latino, and/or experiencing poverty, to know, use, and enjoy mathematics so they are on track for high school success.
(1) Development of models, tools, practices, and platforms—both student- and teacher-facing—that enable two or more years of academic growth in a single year. (2) Increased availability and access of solutions that meet cost, ease of use, and other constraints, to enable easy uptake within existing funding sources. (3) A shift in beliefs, that everyone is a “math person”

Investment Priorities

Our investments in this area focus on the following areas:

Supporting research and development and scale of high-quality math tutoring programs

Support R & D to drive down the cost of tutoring without sacrificing student outcomes, and in response to COVID, expand R&D to support an increase of tutoring both in COVID recovery and beyond.

Developing and piloting innovations centered on Algebra 1 success

Continue the new Grand Challenge that encourages development of innovations to radically transform and rethink Algebra 1 for priority students. In 2021, we will be selecting eight to 10 awardees to pilot their innovations in schools.

Integrating executive function development within math learning to dramatically improve student outcomes

The EF+Math program, an inclusive discovery and development program has the goal of dramatically improving math outcomes for students in grades three through eight, focusing on the foundational skills necessary for learning: executive functions combined with mathematics.

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