Which States Are Overhauling Math Education? See Our Tracker

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After a major push across the United States to overhaul how schools teach reading, many states have expanded their focus to math.

States have adopted a flurry of math-related laws and policies in recent years. These include measures like requiring schools to create individual learning plans for struggling students, setting new teacher training requirements, and requiring districts to automatically enroll students in advanced math courses if they score at grade level on state tests.

Alabama kicked off the trend in 2022 when it passed a comprehensive math bill that mimics features included in many states’ “science of reading” laws. It includes regular math screenings for elementary school students, coaches to improve math instruction, state-approved curricula, and changes to teacher preparation.

In the time since, many other states have passed bills and state board policies that address concerns about sagging math achievement, though so far many are less expansive and detailed than their corresponding reading laws. Fewer have addressed changes to teacher certification, for example. And none of the laws appears to include a grade-retention element, as is common with reading.

And although some states specifically required changes in line with “evidence based” math practices, there is less consensus about what that looks like in math than in reading.

The database does not include policies passed prior to 2022. Some states had already adopted discrete measures—like automatic enrollment in advanced math courses—prior to that year.

As of July 2026, 22 states have passed laws or implemented new policies related to math education since 2022, according to an Education Week analysis.

See below for the requirements of each state’s legislation or policy. Hover over the category names below for details on these requirements.

We've compiled some quick definitions for each category.

Teacher preparation: Requires institutes of higher education and/or teacher-preparation programs to review their course offerings or instructional approaches; requires changes that would bring instructional approaches in line with evidence-based math practices; requires courses to cover certain topics related to early numeracy.

Teacher certification or license renewal: Requires preservice teachers to pass a test demonstrating their knowledge of evidence-based math instruction, or requires in-service teachers to be taught evidence-based math methods to renew their teaching license.

Professional development or coaching: Requires teachers and/or other educators to undergo professional development in evidence-based math instruction and/or institutes a program of instructional coaching.

Assessment: Puts forth requirements for screening students to identify math difficulties or measure math progress, or mandates that schools use specific assessments or undergo a review process when selecting these assessments.

Materials: Puts forth requirements for the type of curricula and other materials that schools can use to identify math difficulties or measure math progress, or mandates that schools undergo a review process when selecting these materials.

Instruction and/or intervention: Requires teachers to use specific instructional methods or provide a specific type or frequency of intervention for students struggling with math.

Access to Algebra 1/advanced math: Automatically enrolls some students in an advanced math course and/or in Algebra 1 in middle school.

Minimum instructional time: Sets minimum daily or weekly time requirements for math instruction in specified grades.

When did states pass these laws?

Search for a state below to learn more about its legislation or policy.

Contact information

For media or research inquiries about this data, contact library@educationweek.org.

How to cite this page

Blad, Evie, Sarah Schwartz, Stephen Sawchuk, and Maya Riser-Kositsky. (2026, July 31). Which States Are Overhauling Math Education? See Our Tracker. Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/which-states-are-overhauling-math-education-see-our-tracker/2026/07