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Students are Falling Behind in Math, and COVID Didn't Help.
Math literacy in the US was already declining before the pandemic, but has continued to worsen since.
According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 35% of fourth graders in U.S. public schools are proficient in elementary math, and only 26% of eighth graders are proficient in middle school math.
Federal data for 2022 tells the same story. According to US News, "Scores declined for all student subgroups, including gender, race and geographic location. But students who already performed the worst saw some of the biggest declines. The math scores for the lowest performing students hit levels last seen in the 1970s."
An article from AP News states that "On average, students’ math knowledge is about half a school year behind where it should be, according to education analysts."
SOURCE: Program for International Student Assessment, OECD. https://data.oecd.org/pisa/science-performance-pisa.htm#indicator-chart
Sources:
2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress by the National Center for Education Statistics
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
US News: "U.S. Teens’ Reading and Math Scores Feature Largest Declines Ever"
AP News: "The math problem: Kids are still behind. How can schools catch them up?"
https://apnews.com/article/math-help-back-to-school-beec7b4c195f2b71edfd75fadd40a5b0
I have seen the gaps students have day to day in my tutoring, especially in foundational concepts like operations, fractions, solving equations, and factoring, but also in knowing how to go about solving any given problem. Because math builds on itself, it is crucial not to miss these gaps, or else everything gets harder and harder as students grapple with more complex problems.
What You and I Can Do in the Community
This is all so disheartening, but there are programs that are helping. You can make an impact in a student’s life - in just 1 hour a week.
I have volunteered with Heart Math Tutoring since 2013 and have seen how transformative it is, not just in the kids' math abilities, but also in their confidence and enjoyment of math.
Volunteering with Heart is a fun, effective way to make a difference by working one-on-one with the same students every week, using an easy-to-follow, proven curriculum. Heart has programs in Charlotte, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, and Charleston, SC, and also has the option to tutor virtually from anywhere.
These kids are so capable and just need someone to help them learn and grow. The games and activities are so fun, and your mental math might even improve (mine did!).
To become a volunteer tutor, you don't have to be a math genius - just someone who is willing to help kids play math games and engage in problem solving activities solidifying fundamental concepts like addition and subtraction.
To sign up or donate, go to https://heartmathtutoring.org/!
Math Resources from Heart Math Tutoring
Click below to explore games and activities provided by Heart Math Tutoring to have fun with math at home.
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