The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress just painted a dismal picture of math performance in America’s schools, continuing to show more than a decade of stagnation. What will it take to alter course? Shalinee Sharma has some thoughts. The author of Math Mind: The Simple Path to Loving Math and the co-founder of Zearn, an online math-lesson platform, Sharma argues that every student has the capacity to succeed at math. She founded Zearn more than a decade ago to support math learning. The nonprofit is used today by more than a quarter of the nation’s elementary students and over a million middle schoolers. I recently had a chance to talk with her about math, Zearn, and what schools can do better. Here’s what she had to say:
—Rick
Rick: Your recent book draws on what you’ve learned about math while building Zearn. So, let’s start with: What is Zearn?
Shalinee: Numeracy is one of the best predictors of a child’s success. Yet, it is also an area where American children are falling behind. Zearn was founded as a nonprofit in response to this challenge. Our goal is to help every child learn and love math. To do this, we’ve built an online program with lessons covering K–8 math concepts designed to help teachers ensure every student can succeed in grade-level math. Teachers and families can access our full library of digital math lessons for free. We serve schools of all types and contexts—public, private, charter, religious, and home schools—and over 60 percent of our partners are Title I schools targeting disadvantaged areas. Since launching our K–5 experience in 2017 and our K–8 experience in 2022, we’ve grown to serve 1 in 4 elementary students and more than one million middle schoolers.
Rick: How does Zearn work?
Shalinee: Zearn’s digital lessons build both procedural fluency and deep conceptual understanding while also making sure to provide support as students work through challenging problems. Each lesson starts with fluency games to practice essential skills. Then, video lessons with on-screen teachers introduce new concepts visually—like slicing oranges to explore fractions—so math makes sense. Throughout the video lessons, students are prompted to solve problems that reinforce their learning both on screen and on paper. If students get stuck, the lessons adapt in real time to give students the support they need. For example, if a 7th grader can’t translate a word problem into an equation, a video will pop up, helping them visualize it. Then, a virtual equation builder helps them translate those concepts into the right equation. Each lesson ends with a mastery quiz, requiring students to earn a perfect score before moving on.
Rick: What can you tell us about Zearn’s results?
Shalinee: Since launching our K–5 program in 2017, we have been committed to building a rigorous evidence base to understand Zearn’s impact on learning outcomes, including findings from randomized controlled trials for the highest level of research validation. An early quasi-experimental design (QED) study from 2019 found a small positive effect, though it did not reach statistical significance. As states and districts provide broad-based access to Zearn across their schools, we have conducted QEDs evaluating Zearn’s impact on students who use the program with fidelity, which means completing three or more lessons per week. For example, a 2024 study led by the Virginia department of education, showed that students who completed between three to five Zearn lessons per week surpassed statewide averages on the Virginia SOL Assessment Program by between 22 percent and 24 percent. Most recently, a QED, peer-reviewed study examining widespread, programmatic use of Zearn found statistically significant gains in state math scores. Two additional third-party studies—one randomized controlled trial funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and one quasi-experimental study—will release findings in 2025, which will help further strengthen our evidence base.
Rick: You came to this work after more than a decade as a consultant at management-consulting company Bain. How did you make that jump? And how do you address skepticism about a noneducator wading into math instruction?
Shalinee: My journey in math education has been unexpected. I spent a decade at Bain, working with Fortune 50 companies. During that time, I was fortunate to be connected with innovative teachers in New York City who were helping underserved students excel beyond expectations. As a co-founder of Zearn, I’ve drawn on lessons from my prior career experiences—building a lean, world-class team, navigating complex systems, scaling effectively, and driving impact sustainably. What I’d say to a skeptic of a businessperson in education is that I agree with their skepticism. Deep expertise and experience in teaching and learning is simply table stakes, and that’s why at Zearn, great teachers are figuring out the answers. I view myself as the arms and legs of these great teachers, scaling their work.
Rick: All right, so let’s talk about your recent book, Math Mind. What’s the big idea?
Shalinee: It’s that all kids can succeed in math with the right support and belief in their potential. In the book, I outline a set of essentials for building a “math mind.” Two critical elements are teaching math to build understanding and ensuring purposeful practice. Purposeful practice builds fluency, making basic math processes automatic and freeing mental capacity for complex problem-solving. At the same time, learning with pictures and objects helps students grasp the “why” behind math, making abstract concepts tangible.
Rick: In the book, you write, “Our math education system makes learning math a hellish experience.” What do you mean by that? And what should we do about it?
Shalinee: American students are held back by an enduring misconception: You are either a “math kid” or you’re not. This belief contrasts sharply with other countries’, where research shows that students see success in math as achievable through hard work. The science says all humans have an inherent number sense and ability to think mathematically. Babies only a few days old can distinguish between two and three. Unfortunately, too many American students experience math as a rigid series of tricks, speed tests, and rote rules, discouraging curiosity and fostering anxiety. This leaves kids believing they aren’t “math people.”
Rick: The “science of reading” movement has successfully changed how many schools teach reading. You talk about an analogous push for a “science of math.” What do you have in mind?
Shalinee: We know a lot about how to support math learning, but it is not as well-researched as reading. What we do know is that, unlike literacy, there’s no “three cueing” to eliminate, no single pedagogy to ban. Math requires both procedural fluency and conceptual understanding—there are no trade-offs. The science of math is getting this balance—procedural fluency and conceptual understanding—right. The research on this balance, among other key findings to ensure math makes sense, is best summarized in the final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel of 2008.
Rick: In your book’s final chapter, “From Sorting to Teaching,” you argue that every student can excel at math if they have the right teacher. You acknowledge that there’s skepticism on this count. After all, this seems a bit like insisting that every student can excel at literary criticism, dance, or basketball if they only have the right teacher. How do you answer such concerns?
Shalinee: It is important to distinguish between skills that are nice to have and skills that are essential to have. Sure, it’s nice to be graceful on the dance floor or sink shots from the foul line, but your future success isn’t predicated on it. That isn’t true for mathematics; it is an essential skill. No matter if you are an auto mechanic or a data scientist, today’s jobs require numeracy. Thus, all kids can and should be expected to learn math—irrespective of their perceived abilities. When I talk about excelling in math, I mean raising the bar and ensuring basic numeracy by passing algebra. Algebra completion is one of the best predictors of high school and college graduation, getting into college, and future earnings. Not only is algebra proficiency the gateway to future success for students, but it is also essential for the United States to ensure global competitiveness, since all higher-performing countries get all their kids to algebra proficiency.
Rick: In the book, it can sound like you’re suggesting that Zearn can help provide every math student with the instruction they need. Can you say a bit about what you have in mind?
Shalinee: Nothing can replace the work of teachers. However, just about every teacher will tell you they would benefit from more support to help kids succeed in math and that one of their biggest challenges is keeping every student on track. In a class of 20 or 30 students, that is really challenging. In fact, a recent RAND survey found that teachers ranked “materials to scaffold grade-level math instruction” as an area where they need more support. Zearn is built to provide that support. We help teachers with digital math lessons that adapt in real-time, helping students overcome challenges and learn through their struggles.
Rick: OK, last question. What’s one essential tip you’d offer to parents and educators for instilling the love of math?
Shalinee: My advice for teachers and parents instilling a love of math is different. Teachers should seize every opportunity to make math tangible. While we know building a math mind is a nuanced endeavor, understanding lies in bridging abstract concepts to the concrete and physical world. Consider fractions: Is 1/3 or 1/4 a larger number? Cut a cake into thirds and fourths. It’s intuitive which is bigger, especially for a kid! This type of understanding can help build a love of math. My advice to parents is to make practice fun. Math, like everything, requires practice. Swap out practice worksheets for a board game night, a deck of cards, or an online tool like Zearn. Play board games like Battleship or card games that naturally incorporate mathematical thinking. Through play, you’ll both cultivate your child’s math mind and a love of math.
