Engineering, computer science, accounting, finance and medicine will not be options for people who couldn't find the lowest common denominator in fourth grade (or understand why they were looking for it), warns Education Trust in an analysis of the 2022 math scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Overall, 26 percent of eighth-graders are "proficient" in math, 35 percent are in the "basic" range and 40 percent are "below basic."
A majority of black, Latino and low-income students score "below basic." Only among Asian-American students are a majority (56 percent) in the "proficient" range.
Students need "evidence-based" instruction to have a shot at advanced math classes and the STEM pipeline to high-paying careers, concludes Education Trust.
There's a good chance they're not getting it, writes Holly Korbey in Putting the 'M' in STEM. Many school leaders and teachers aren't aware of the "evidence base for helping students learn math," she writes on her new Bell Ringer site. Furthermore, many popular teaching methods are not backed by evidence they increase math learning.
For example, “productive struggle” -- giving students an unfamiliar problem to tackle with minimal teacher guidance -- is popular. In theory, students will "figure out an answer on their own, leading to a deeper or perhaps more creative understanding than if the teacher had shown them how to solve it," writes Korbey. But no significant evidence supports its efficacy.
A growing body of scientific evidence points in the opposite direction, she writes. Students learn more when "the teacher explicitly shows students how to work a new kind of problem, then carefully guides them through examples where they can catch and correct mistakes."
Teachers often use productive struggle or inquiry learning "too soon, before students have acquired a base level of skill," says researcher Kati Maki. Students don't know enough to struggle productively or inquire intelligently. They get confused and frustrated.
A new study in Australia found "explicit, step-by-step teaching with consistent feedback" led to stronger outcomes in math and reading for high school students. Explicit teaching was linked to higher test scores and higher levels of "confidence and perseverance."