Essential Questions for Middle Grade Math: Leadership for Mathematics

Students from various demographic subgroups are proportionally represented in rigorous courses and programs (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Differences in the participation rates for students from key demographic subgroups in rigorous courses and programs relative to those students’ representation in their school population as a whole, including opportunities, such as the following: Gifted and talented programs and Algebra I in middle school (Education-to-Workforce Framework).

Percentage of math courses taught by in-field or certified instructors within the school/district (Research in Educational Policy and Management).

Percentage of schools or teachers reporting adoption of district’s standards (RAND).

Percentage of schools using the district’s math curriculum (edReports).

District leaders prioritize student outcomes by setting clear goals for math instruction and ensuring that all students receive equitable access to high-quality learning (Instruction Partners).

District leaders create an instructional vision of excellence for math and ensure resourcing, staffing, training and ongoing support aligns to and supports the vision (EdReports).

State leaders can convene regular meetings with staff from all relevant offices at the state level (e.g., curriculum and instruction, special education, school improvement, early education and human capital) to align on a coherent vision for math improvement. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can build SEA knowledge, coherence and capacity related to evidence-based instructional practices through staff training and strategic use of external experts. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

States can align their priorities and resources to support their vision for high-quality math instruction. A clear, coherent approach eliminates confusion and ensures a consistent, statewide focus to drive improved student outcomes. State chiefs can prioritize coherence across often-siloed departments and designate staff to fully support priorities, creating a systematic and comprehensive education approach that supports all students’ success. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can align competitive funding from the SEA with incentives or requirements to implement state math initiatives.  (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can train regional educational service centers to ensure their support aligns with the state math strategy. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can coordinate the strategy for school improvement with the state’s math priorities to ensure that systems of support for the lowest-performing schools enhance the math priorities. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can create a plan to communicate the state’s math strategy with families, educators, school and district leaders, community advocates and policymakers. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

To support its math initiatives, Nebraska has increased coherence in its vision and messaging regarding instruction. Cross-divisional teams from offices responsible for teaching and learning — such as assessment, school support, special education and early childhood education — meet to align their priorities to support math. These teams have focused on how states can promote instructional coherence through high-quality K-3 instructional materials and the state’s MTSS and interventions for schools identified as low-performing. Nebraska has also improved coherence among its 17 regional ESUs, which have traditionally delivered professional development and assistance to district educators. The Math Acceleration Project, a multiyear capacity-building endeavor launched by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), aims to create sustainable positive change and inform NDE’s decisions about future policies, guidance, practices and support. As a part of the project, NDE engaged the nonprofit organization Instruction Partners to support the implementation of HQIM, teaming up with ESUs to offer individualized engagements that developed leaders’ capacity to provide deep, lasting, replicable support to districts adopting and implementing HQIM. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Percentage of lessons as demonstrated through walk-through or other observable data that are focused on grade-level content or scaffolding to grade-level content (Instruction Partners).

% of students in classrooms where adopted curricular materials are being utilized.

Professional learning and implementation needs to be considered from the beginning of selection processes (edreports).

Focus and Coherence: Do the curricular materials and aligned assessments assess grade-level content, and are they coherent and consistent with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? Criteria related to coherence determine whether instructional materials are consistent with progressions of the CCSS and are coherent within a single grade. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Rigor and Math Practices: Do the materials meet the CCSS expectations for rigor and mathematical practices? Criteria related to rigor determine if each grade’s instructional materials reflect the balances set forth in the CCSS, helping students develop conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application. Criteria related to mathematical practice determine how well materials meaningfully connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Instructional Supports and Usability: Do the materials and aligned professional learning support teachers in fully using the curriculum, understanding students’ skills and learning, and supporting a range of learners? The criteria determine how well instructional materials support student learning and engagement and support teacher learning and understanding of the standards. Other criteria include usability of assessments and incorporation of technology into the instructional materials. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

The Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching (CRMT) curriculum coding tool measures the prevalence of a curriculum’s guidance for enacting culturally responsive instruction, such as connecting content to student culture and identities, providing all students with rigorous material, and attending to the power and participation of students throughout the learning process. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Community and Cultural Funds of Knowledge: How does the lesson as written help students connect mathematics with meaningful issues or situations in their lives? Key practices include: Reference students’ community and home knowledge, culture, or experiences; Inquire about student backgrounds and experiences; Ask students to reflect on instances in which they might have seen a topic in their own life, ask them to discuss the experience, and adapt it as a problem for the class. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

(Re) Humanizing: How does the lesson as written support creativity, broaden what counts as mathematical knowledge, and affirm positive mathematics identities for all students? Key practices include: Affirm positive mathematics identities for all races, genders, and ethnicities; Include mathematical problems that honor students’ diversity and culture or include how other cultures or communities have used mathematics to honor their traditions; Acknowledge that individuals around the world have been successfully involved with mathematics in various ways for centuries. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Student Ideas and Thinking: How does the lesson as written create opportunities to elicit, express, and build on student mathematical thinking in a variety of ways? Key practices include: Include guidance for teachers to encourage students to share their reasoning, ask questions of one another, discuss each other’s ideas, or promote a shared understanding across the whole class; Include guidance for teachers to encourage and value a variety of forms of communication, including hand gestures, pictures or drawings, and diverse responses. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Cognitive Demand: How does the lesson as written enable all students to closely explore and analyze mathematics concept(s), procedure(s), and problem-solving or reasoning strategies? Key practices include: Include mathematical tasks that emphasize underlying concepts, patterns, and properties; Include tasks that require students to explain their reasoning. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Maintain Rigor: How does the lesson as written maintain high rigor with strong support for all students? Key practices include: Ensure that scaffolds do not lower the expectation for some students; Include opportunities for students assigned lower-level tasks to reconnect to rigorous content. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Affirm Multilingualism: How does the lesson as written position multilingual learners (MLL) as competent learners in mathematics activities? Key practices include: Include prompts for teachers to encourage students to lean on their linguistic resources and home language to help make sense of mathematics; Include guidance for teachers to lift up the language that students use and share it with the class; Reference strategies that develop academic language, such as repeating all or part of what a student said to ensure understanding or using graphic organizers to visualize or present information in a way that is easy to comprehend. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Distribute Intellectual Authority: How does the lesson as written distribute mathematics authority and make space for a variety of forms of knowledge and communication? Key practices include: Include prompts for teachers to encourage students to draw on their experiences and knowledge to make sense of and connect with the mathematics concepts they are learning; Ensure that mathematical tasks include opportunities for students to share their reasoning with one another, whether in pairs or small groups; Include guidance for teachers to encourage student input and ownership through inquiry-based instruction. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Disrupt Power: How does the lesson as written disrupt status differences, entrenched stereotypes, and inequitable power relationships present in all mathematics classrooms? Key practices include: Include teacher prompts for explicitly addressing and challenging stereotypes; Include teacher guidance for using inclusive talk that builds up students instead of tearing down ideas or insisting on one correct way; Include teacher prompts for implementing classroom norms to ensure that each student speaks during a lesson. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Taking Action: How does the lesson as written support students’ use of mathematics to analyze, critique, and address power relationships and injustice in their lives (economic, social, environmental, legal, political, patriarchal)? Key practices include: Provide students with mathematical tasks that involve analyzing, critiquing, or addressing an issue they strongly connect to, such as a topic on social justice; Provide students with mathematical problems related to current or historical issues of injustice or social justice, such as calculating the cost of buying bottled water when lead is discovered in the water system or the cost of rent when families are displaced by hurricane damage to their homes. (Analyzing Middle School Math Curricula). [Editor’s note: As of April 2025, we were unable to access this content on Mathematica’s website.]

Elementary and middle school mathematics curricula should include a focused, coherent progression of mathematics learning, emphasizing proficiency in key topic areas. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Districts build a coherent instructional system that aligns to their instructional vision that includes district leadership across multiple units (curriculum, finance, superintendent, student services, human resources, etc.) (National Implementation Research Network).

High-quality instructional materials (HQIM), at a minimum, are aligned to academic state standards, are easy to use, include implementation support and educative teacher guides, have inclusive practices and are aligned to evidence-based best practices by content area. For math, these materials provide focus and coherence, rigor and mathematical practices, balance among conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency and application. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Funding for curriculum adoptions and implementation is allocated at the state and/or district level (edreports).

Percentage of middle school students completing standards and curriculum aligned formative math assessments in regular intervals (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics).

Leverage integrated technology and artificial intelligence to support assessment analysis and interventions for students 

State leaders support districts in streamlining assessment systems to leverage real-time student data. When teachers are clear on the purpose of their assessments and are equipped to use the data in real time, they are empowered with immediate, actionable insights to improve instruction for students. States can support districts in developing a coherent assessment plan, including curriculum-based assessments, that teachers use to address student needs in real time. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Redundant data can be hard to interpret. States are leading the way in improving assessment methods by implementing frequent, ongoing assessments throughout the year. These assessments are aligned with the teacher’s curriculum and provide more immediate data that contribute to a comprehensive year-end summative report. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

States can assist by creating a coherent assessment plan to clarify the purpose of each assessment and eliminate redundancies, reducing testing time and increasing instructional time. This plan should consider how assessments can better connect to daily instruction through the curriculum and articulate how the state, district, teachers and families will use the results of each assessment. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Teachers’ regular use of formative assessment improves their students’ learning, especially if teachers have additional guidance on what instructional experiences might be best for students based on their results. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can articulate a clear vision across academic and assessment divisions for the role of state and local assessments. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can incentivize partnerships with third-party providers to support districts in auditing their current assessment systems, ensuring a streamlined and coherent approach. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can limit excessive or unnecessary testing that does not directly align with the curriculum or classroom learning and consider innovative approaches to state assessment. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can partner with state-vetted professional learning providers to embed real-time use of curriculum-based assessments to address unfinished learning. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can provide districts with guidance and best practices for using real-time data in professional learning communities to align student support across core, intervention and other supplemental experiences such as tutoring and summer school. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Montana received a federal waiver in 2023 from the U.S. Department of Education, allowing schools participating in a pilot program for innovative assessment to eliminate double-testing requirements for schools. The waiver allowed the state to expand the Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) program, a through-year assessment developed and designed by the Montana Office of Public Instruction in partnership with New Meridian. The goal of the assessment is to provide instructionally useful data to teachers throughout the year, as well as a scaled summative score for accountability at the end of the year. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Montana’s new assessment approach organizes the state’s mathematics standards into 12 smaller testlets, allowing districts to align their curriculum’s scope and sequence and assess content throughout the school year. Each testlet takes around 20-30 minutes to complete, with weekly reporting that provides teachers with timely, actionable feedback. The reports will include item-level reporting based on the specific skills embedded in the content standards. Another innovative feature of the MAST assessment is misconception reporting, which helps educators identify and address specific student misunderstandings. At the end of the year, the system compiles the mini-test scores into a summative score that meets federal accountability requirements. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Local education agencies establish policies for how assessments are utilized for instruction in an effort to prevent over-testing and maximize student supports.

Percentage of students, disaggregated, who take and pass Algebra I in 8th grade.

School districts should ensure more students are prepared for and have early access to algebra when appropriate. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State policies can help expand early access to advanced math courses. Students need the opportunity to take rigorous math courses throughout high school to ensure college and career preparedness. Offering Algebra I in middle school creates space in high school schedules for students to go beyond the common math sequence of requirements mandated by most states. This allows students to enroll in advanced courses such as statistics, calculus or data science. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

States generally approach eligibility for advanced math through opt-in or opt-out policies. Opt-in policies often require teachers, advisors, families or students to request that a student be placed in a more advanced course; however, critics argue this method leaves room for bias and inequitable access for students. Opt-out policies typically automatically enroll in an accelerated course any student who meets the state standard on the statewide exam in the preceding mathematics level (or through another measure). More states, including Colorado, North Carolina, Texas and Washington, are turning toward opt-out policies to ensure equitable opportunities to access rigorous and potentially college-credit-bearing courses for all students. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

If considering an “opt-out” policy for advanced math courses, states should consider the qualifications for enrolling students. If opt-out policies are too broad, districts risk enrolling students in middle school Algebra I who are not adequately prepared. This can result in less rigorous Algebra I courses and cause students to struggle with advanced math courses later in high school. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Many state math policies focus on Algebra I offerings in middle school, as Algebra I is generally considered a gatekeeper to higher mathematics. Offering Algebra I earlier than high school opens doors to a sequence of advanced math courses later in high school, including calculus and statistics, which are sometimes required or strongly encouraged for college admission. Early exposure to Algebra I is associated with increased enrollment and success in postsecondary education and career opportunities. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can create policies and regulations that ensure students have the opportunity to take Algebra I in middle school as they are ready. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can create recommended data thresholds to support districts in determining student placement in math classes. This should include using multiple data points. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can work with their SEA data team and districts to track student performance in Algebra I and advanced math courses so the entry threshold can be adjusted based on the most successful students. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can review state accountability systems to ensure they reflect the critical importance of student mastery of algebra. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can craft a sample communications plan or toolkit to support districts in raising students’ and families’ awareness of the availability and benefits of advanced math courses, particularly targeting underrepresented groups. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

State leaders can establish mechanisms to collect data and regularly assess the impact of early access to Algebra I on student outcomes and make adjustments based on data-driven insights. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Washington state passed a bill in 2013 encouraging school districts to adopt an automatic enrollment policy for advanced courses. The legislature allocated grant funds to cover costs such as teacher training, technology, transportation, books and fees. By 2019, Washington became the first state in the country to mandate an automatic enrollment policy for advanced math classes in all high schools. This policy requires districts to automatically enroll students who meet or exceed state standards on the eighth grade or high school math statewide assessments into advanced math courses. Districts must also notify students and their guardians about the policy and the advanced courses available. Since the implementation of this policy, many districts across Washington have seen increased enrollment in advanced math classes, helping to ensure that more students have access to rigorous coursework. The state has also provided one-time grants to schools to help expand their capacity for offering advanced math classes. As a result, Washington has observed improvements in math performance among high school students, reflecting the positive impact of the automatic enrollment policy. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

North Carolina passed a bill in 2018 that requires students — starting with those in third grade — who score at the highest level on end-of-year math assessments to be automatically placed in advanced math classes. The bill also specifically guarantees access to a high school-level math course (Math 1 in the North Carolina context) in eighth grade for qualified students. Families can opt out if they do not wish their child to take the course. The bill was revised in 2019 to include annual reports on implementing this policy. As a result of this revision, North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction created a district reporting mechanism and aggregates data for an annual report to the General Assembly. Since implementing this policy, North Carolina has seen an increase in the percentage of high-performing students in seventh grade placed in advanced math in eighth grade. (CCSSO, A Nation of Problem-Solvers).

Provide educators with standards-aligned curriculum materials and professional development to enhance the quality of math instruction (Rand, 2023).