Mathematics

Education news, analysis, and opinion about math instruction

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Featured Special Reports

Special Report An Educator’s Guide to Stronger Math Instruction and Achievement
Help students make sense of math and feel more confident in the subject with these research-aligned strategies.
May 5, 2025
A teacher's hand places the missing pieces of an X shaped bridge over water filled with numerals, so a student can make it safely across.
Eglė Plytnikaitė for Education Week
Special Report Math Foundations for All: Clearing a Path
A solid foundation in math begins with knowing how schools can build students’ math fact fluency, foster parent involvement, and support students with math disabilities.
May 1, 2023
Illustration of children exploring a maze with a division symbol in the center.
J.R. Bee for Education Week
Special Report Math Now: Problem-Solving in a Pandemic
This special reporting series looks at how COVID-19 has affected achievement, instruction, assessment, and engagement in math.
December 2, 2020
Conceptual image of different aspects of teaching math remotely during pandemic.
Visual compilation: finevector/iStock /Getty Images Plus<br/>
  • The Latest

     In 2025, the Texas Legislature mandated professional development for classroom teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and building leaders working with students in grades K-3 in a bid to shore up math teaching in the state. The Texas State Capitol is shown on the first day of a special session on July 8, 2021, in Austin.
    The Texas State Capitol on the first day of the 87th Legislature's special session on July 8, 2021 in Austin. In 2025, Texas lawmakers mandated professional development for classroom teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and building leaders working with students in grades K-3.
    Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images via TNS
    Mathematics More States Are Calling for Math Reform. Will It Improve Student Outcomes?
    National math scores are sitting at historic lows. But experts disagree on how to raise achievement.
    Sarah Schwartz, February 13, 2026
    7 min read
    Mathematics Spotlight Spotlight on Creating a Positive Math Culture
    This Spotlight explores instructional practices that help build students’ math skills, confidence, and willingness to tackle hard problems.
    January 30, 2026
    A classroom at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps.
    An elementary school classroom in Effie, La., shows how one of the learning goals is to master the ability to compare numbers, on August 22, 2025. New research points out steps teachers can take to memorize facts—through a combination of practice, drills, and playing with numbers.
    Kathleen Flynn for Education Week
    Mathematics 4 Research-Backed Tips for Mastering Math Facts
    A new review of research offers evidence-based recommendations for classroom practice.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 27, 2026
    5 min read
    Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, strives for a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.
    Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, pictured on Capitol Hill on Dec. 9, 2025, has asked for details from colleges and universities about whether matriculants possess adequate math skills.
    J. Scott Applewhite/AP
    Mathematics Are Students Prepared for College-Level Math? A Senator Wants to Know
    Cassidy has asked 35 institutions about incoming students' math abilities, citing a "crisis" in K-12 math education.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 23, 2026
    3 min read
    Casey Dupuis points to class work for a one of her 5th graders during a math class at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps.
    A 5th grader works on a problem during a math class at an elementary school in Effie, La., on Aug. 22, 2025. A position paper on teaching math published by the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics recently kicked off another round of conversations about what practices work best in the classroom—and what the ultimate goals of the subject even are.
    Kathleen Flynn for Education Week
    Mathematics Debates Over Math Teaching Are Heating Up. They Could Affect Classrooms
    A controversial new movement promoting the "science of math" has come into the math establishment's crosshairs.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 22, 2026
    9 min read
    Word Cloud MATH terms: polygon, multiply, rectangle, ordered pair, place value, quadrilateral, subtract, algorithm, median, remainder, number line, factors, divide.
    Education Week and Canva
    Mathematics How the Vocabulary Math Teachers Use Affects Student Learning
    A new study draws a link between teachers' use of a discrete instructional practice and student performance.
    Sarah Schwartz, January 16, 2026
    4 min read
    This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
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    Mathematics Quiz
    Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Today’s Most Effective Math Practices?
    Test your knowledge and explore what sets high-impact math instruction apart from traditional methods.
    Content provided by MIND Education
    Learning math and mathematics education for problem solving and calculating mathematical concepts as algebra calculus geometry and physics science or mental disorder as Dyscalculia or symbol for economics and engineering or machine learning
    iStock/Getty + Education Week
    Mathematics Opinion How to Make Every Student Feel Like a ‘Math Person’
    Math teachers and researchers discuss how to make the subject more engaging and accessible.
    Mary Hendrie, November 20, 2025
    3 min read
    Logan Jeffiers teaches an eighth grade pre-algebra class on April 28, 2023, at Medlin Middle School in Trophy Club, Texas.
    Logan Jeffiers teaches an eighth grade prealgebra class on April 28, 2023, at Medlin Middle School in Trophy Club, Texas. New data confirm that even when they have similar academic marks as their white peers, Black and Latino students tend to have less access to the gatekeeping course of Algebra 1.
    Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram via TNS
    Mathematics High-Achieving Black and Latino Students Are Often Shut Out of Algebra 1
    Middle schoolers' access to the course is stratified along racial, socioeconomic, and regional lines, new research finds.
    Sarah Schwartz, November 18, 2025
    3 min read
    A group of students leaps from x's and math symbols. Learning from their math mistakes.
    Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
    Mathematics Opinion Want Students to Gain Math Confidence? Celebrate Their Mistakes
    A veteran educator shares six ways student errors can reshape how math is taught and experienced.
    Wendy W. Amato, October 30, 2025
    5 min read
    This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
    Sponsor
    Mathematics Webinar
    Math for Every Learner: A Systems-Level Approach to Student and Teacher Empowerment
    Math isn’t magic. Join us to explore how we can help students and teachers feel confident in their ability to understand and excel in math.
    Content provided by HMH
    Mathematics Spotlight Spotlight on Building Foundational Math Skills and Beyond
    This Spotlight will provide insights on helping students build foundational math skills.
    October 1, 2025
    Mathematics Spotlight Spotlight on Teaching Tools to Make the Math Journey Easier
    Students need to see math as useful and doable. This Spotlight focuses on giving teachers tools to help in that journey.
    September 11, 2025
    A student works a problem in a second grade math class at Place Bridge Academy, May 20, 2025, in Denver.
    A student works a problem in a 2nd grade math class at Place Bridge Academy, May 20, 2025, in Denver. The math instructional strategies that teachers employ can vary depending on whether they trained as general or special educators—a divide researchers say could hurt struggling students.
    Rebecca Slezak/AP
    Mathematics How Should We Teach Math? General and Special Ed. Researchers Don't Agree
    The divide makes it less likely that students who struggle will get access to proven strategies, researchers argue in a new study.
    Sarah Schwartz, August 21, 2025
    8 min read
    Vector illustration showing a male and two females carrying large numbers and math symbols.
    iStock/Getty
    Mathematics Professional Learning Guide Your Guide to Math
    Dive into math fluency, teaching math to ELL students, and more in this professional learning guide.
    August 13, 2025