We just read in the New York Times about the latest results of the NAECP tests, showing a startling decline in math scores among the lowest-performing students since 2013. No, this isn’t a COVID story — it goes much further back.
According to the
article, eighth-grade students scoring at the bottom of standardized math tests were making slow but steady improvements since about 2000. In fact, all students seemed to be bringing their scores up, until 2013. Then the lowest-performing students’ scores started to dip down, and those scores continue to nosedive through today.
What’s the reason for the drop in math scores? Researchers point to a variety of possible causes. One is the end of the No Child Left Behind program instituted in 2002. The program was controversial and eventually was discontinued because many felt it over-emphasized math and English to the exclusion of all other subjects. Another theory is the rise in smartphones. Before 2013, less than half of the adult population in the US had smartphones. Today, 90 percent of adults and teenagers have smartphones. The article points out the “one in three 9-year-olds” has a smartphone. We all how much time a smartphone can take away from other activities. Further, school funding was cut in years 2011-2012, and the effects of that began to appear shortly afterward.
But most likely, says the article, we are not focusing on our lowest-performing students anymore, and they are suffering from the lack of attention. A look at results in Mississippi, traditionally one of the worst states for student performance, shows that because of efforts being made for the bottom 25th percentile of students, scores are on the rise.
Here’s what we at Brick Math take away from this research: your lowest-performing students can improve, but only if you find instruction methods that work for them. Brick Math helps students learn K-8th grade math when other teaching methods have failed them. By allowing students to “see the math,” they develop a foundational understanding of basic math concepts. As they continue throughout the Brick Math curriculum, they build on their mathematical knowledge and they really learn the math, often for the first time in their experience.
It’s exciting to have students who beg their teachers to stay in for recess and keep doing Brick Math (true story!). And we love hearing from students who say, “I finally understand math! I can SEE it!”
Brick Math is a complete math curriculum for kindergarten through 8th grade that models the math with bricks. The curriculum is divided into 13 separate content areas: Counting, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Basic Fractions, Basic Measurement, Fraction Multiplication, Fraction Division, Advanced Measurement and Geometry, Decimals, Data and Statistics, and Pre-Algebra.
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tudents can start anywhere in the curriculum. Brick Math can be used as a complete math curriculum or brought in as a supplement to help students who aren’t having math success with other programs. Check BrickMath.com to learn more!
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