More math, more learning in Tennessee

Eighth-grade math scores are down in most of the country -- but not in Tennessee, writes Steven Yoder for the Hechinger Report. Two rural, poorer-than-average districts that made more time for math are improving.

Photo: Max Fischer/Pexels

In Weakley and the Putnam County School District, "educators point to instructional coaches, a dramatic increase in class time devoted to math and teachers systematically using student performance data to inform their teaching and push students to improve," he writes.

Math scores are down and the gaps between high and low achievers are wider, compared to 2019, for most U.S. eighth graders. However, Tennessee, has climbed from the 45th-ranked state to the 19th for average eighth grade math scores since 2011, and "the percentage of eighth graders scoring proficient in math — meaning they were able to handle challenging tasks like calculating square roots, areas and volumes — increased from 2022 to 2024," writes Yoder.

In Weakley, Martin Middle hired coaches to help teachers improve math lessons and nearly doubled teaching time. "In place of a single 50-minute class are two 45-minute periods that the school calls 'core' and 'encore,' with the encore session meant to solidify what students get in the first," he writes.

At Martin Middle School, the percentage of students meeting grade level expectations on the state math exam fell from 40 percent in 2019 to 24 percent in 2022, then rebounded to 43 percent in 2024, Yoder reports.

This is similar to Houston's reforms, except there students who've done well on a quiz after the first 40 minutes do independent work, while the teacher works with those who need more help.

. . . Becky Mullins, a longtime math and science teacher who’s also assistant principal, helped sixth graders in her encore class calculate area and volume. On a screen at the front of the classroom, she pulled up problems many of them had trouble with in their core class.

Weakley and Putnam County staff student achievement data "to pinpoint which skills they need to review with which students," he writes.

Putnam County also requires 90 minutes of math a day. In the second half, "teachers pull out students in groups for instruction on specific skills based on where the data shows they need help."

Students track their achievement data. Many are motivated to try to improve their numbers, the math coach says.

Both districts focus on "helping teachers closely align their instruction with the state middle school math standards," so students will be prepared for the state tests, writes Yoder.

Middle-school math achievement predicts future earnings and education.