It's time to stop stalling action on the state math framework

Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource

Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource

Rachel Ruffalo and Martha Hernandez

April 24, 2023

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A lot can happen in 10 years. Ten years ago, we were still on the iPhone 6, “global pandemic” was a phrase we saw in history books and TikTok did not exist.

It has also been 10 years since California gave educators guidance on the most effective ways to teach mathematics, meaning that both guidance and the instructional materials in our classrooms today are outdated.

Yet as we eagerly await an approval vote from the State Board of Education on California’s new math framework so the important work of implementation can begin, the state has stalled. In fact, the state has not released an updated draft of the framework since May 2022. This standstill threatens to have serious consequences for our educators, students and state as a whole.

Without a significant course correction, we are a state at risk in math — at risk of not having the STEM experts we increasingly need in areas like climate change infrastructure, data information and privacy, and public health. Even before the pandemic, California’s outdated instructional methods and lack of supports for educators led to dire consequences, particularly for students of color and multilingual students. In 2019, only 21% of Black students were at grade level in math, and in 2022, that number dropped even further, with only 16% of Black students at grade level. We also saw significant decreases for Latino students, 28% of whom were at grade level in math in 2019, down to just 21% at grade level in 2022. And for English learners, who make up more than a million students in California classrooms, the results are even more dismal — just 10% of English learners are at grade level in math.

The pandemic only exacerbated the alarming trajectory we have been on in math. A state as innovative and resource-rich as California should be responding to those alarm bells by bringing together experts, educators and equity advocates with a fierce sense of urgency and responsibility — as the math framework revision process has done.

The framework revision process was led by educators and experts, and involved a wide range of opportunities for stakeholders— including 10 public meetings with opportunities for public input and comment. We are glad the state followed such an exhaustive and comprehensive stakeholder engagement process. Yet we are concerned by the state’s pace at this point in the process. While California education leaders have a responsibility to hear and address critiques from stakeholders — including those opposed to the proposed updates — they have had ample time to do so. The continued delays have essentially put school districts in a holding pattern, delaying decisions on professional development and instructional materials until they can align such efforts with the new framework. To put it simply, this has been a thorough, stakeholder-involved process, and it’s time to move forward with a math framework that centers equity in actionable ways — especially for English learners.

The debates over math instruction have been mired in misinformation and marred by melodrama — moving the conversation further and further away from the students and educators who so clearly need updated, improved instructional strategies for math. Whatever guidance the framework provides to districts about course pathways, it is essential that districts ensure those pathways are equitable, with research-based, culturally and linguistically-affirming curriculum, and standards-aligned instruction. What seems lost amid the drama is the wide range of support for the revised framework. Our organizations have been joined by a long and diverse list — including the California Mathematics Project, the California STEM Network, the San Joaquin County Office of Education, the Loyola Marymount University Center for Equity for English Learners, the Parent Institute for Quality Education and many more — in providing feedback and support for the updated guidance on math.

Advocating for a math framework that centers on equity and meaningful opportunities for all California students is not controversial. Doing so reflects the values of local control that California has long upheld. The framework provides guidance — not requirements — to districts, leaving specific choices on curriculum and instructional materials up to them. The state’s process has engaged educators and parents alike, spanned geographic and ideological domains and taken into consideration comments from stakeholders.

At the end of the day, the State Board of Education’s job is to respond to the needs of students based on research-based evidence and data. Continuing to kick the can down the road on the framework is unresponsive to student and educator needs.

We urge the State Board of Education to provide at their May public meeting both a timeline for the release of the updated math framework draft and a clear date for when the approval vote will occur. We can’t wait another 10 years or even another 10 months. It’s time.

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Rachel Ruffalo is director of educator engagement at The Education Trust–West, a nonprofit advocacy organization, and has 20 years of experience in the field as a teacher, new school developer, school leader, consultant, researcher and advocate.

Martha Hernandez is the executive director at Californians Together, a statewide coalition advocating for students who are English learners and has served in the classroom, school, district and county levels as well as on numerous state committees.

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