The Math Framework, A Year Later

California's racist and anti-achievement math framework from last year has been cleaned up a little, but systemic problems remain:

The proposed California Mathematics Framework generated a storm of controversy when the first draft was released in early 2021. Critics objected to the document’s condemnation of tracking and negative portrayal of acceleration for high-achieving students. Indignation focused on the recommendation that schools stop offering Algebra I to mathematically precocious eighth graders. A revised draft was released in 2022, softening the harsh language of the original text while leaving intact the framework’s dim view of course acceleration or other forms of tracking.

Those are important issues; however, this post is concerned with students on the opposite end of the distribution of achievement: students who struggle with math. Over the past decade, math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have been declining at the 25^th percentile, indicating that struggling students are falling even further behind their peers. Moreover, as schools recover from the pandemic, the percentage of students with disappointing math achievement is sure to go up. What does the framework portend for them? What evidence does the framework rely upon to build its recommendations for these vulnerable youngsters...

It appears that the framework’s ideological commitment to the principle that all students should be treated the same—same curriculum, same instruction—is the primary reason why the extensive literature on struggling students is ignored. Effective interventions require identifying students who are falling behind and creating supplemental instructional settings for them, either in small groups or individually. In contrast, the framework places all its bets on instruction that attends to mindset theory, lessons using math to explore social justice topics, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to reduce the number of students who need extra help. The framework doesn’t say it out loud, but the idea that students could fall behind once this instructional regime is established is treated as unlikely.

The framework’s second ideological commitment is to inquiry. Topics are organized around “big ideas” and “drivers of investigation.” Inquiry methods have a century-long checkered history, particularly for struggling students in the primary grades. As a long time reader of California’s frameworks, I can say that the 2022 Math Framework is the most inquiry-oriented that I’ve seen since the 1992 California Math Framework. This statement from the 1992 framework could have easily come from the 2022 version: “Children often misinterpret and misapply arithmetic and algebraic procedures taught the traditional way. This program, in contrast, values developing number and symbol sense over mastering specific computational procedures and manipulations.” The 1992 framework flew under the radar until a coalition of concerned parents and mathematicians, in what became known as “The Math Wars,” rallied against the textbooks and instructional methods that the framework spawned and drove them all out of state policy...

The 2022 California Math Framework does not reflect current scholarship on how to serve students who struggle when learning mathematics. A search of studies cited in a recent What Works Clearinghouse publication, “Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades,” reveals absolutely no overlap. None of the studies cited in “Struggling Math Students” are cited in the framework. This is particularly troubling because of the transparent, rigorous process followed in producing the practice guide, ensuring that recommendations are based on scientifically sound research. In sharp contrast, the process employed to search literature and select evidence for the framework’s recommendations is unknown. It is not described in the document or on the framework’s website.

The California State School Board will consider the framework for adoption in July, 2022. All students will be poorly served if the state endorses inquiry over explicit instruction. Students who dream of pursuing a STEM major will arrive at college unprepared. Students who have difficulty learning math will see their frustrations increase and challenges multiply as they fall further behind their peers.

The Board should reject this framework.

For so many reasons.