California math – A new research brief urges California to treat math like literacy—highlighting funding gaps, uneven training, and widening achievement inequality.
California’s math struggles are no longer just a classroom concern—they’re shaping life opportunities for students as they move through K-8 and into high school, according to a new research brief drawing on statewide and national education evidence.
The brief. part of the larger research effort Getting Down to Facts. argues that California’s recent investment momentum has been stronger in early literacy than in mathematics.. Researchers say that difference is showing up in test results and in the growing academic divide between students in higher- and lower-income school districts.
Calculations by Stanford professor Sean Reardon, director of the Stanford Education Data Archive, put numbers behind the trend.. The gap in math achievement between students in the highest- and lowest-income California districts widened from 1.9 grade levels in 2009 to 2.7 grade levels in 2024—a roughly 40% increase.. In practical terms. the study describes the highest-income students as nearly three grade levels ahead in math compared with the lowest-income students.. While reading gaps have also been substantial, the brief says they narrowed slightly over the same period.
The researchers point to current performance indicators as another sign of uneven progress.. They note that a third of eighth graders were proficient in math on the 2025 Smarter Balanced Assessments.. The brief also reports that proficiency gaps between racial and ethnic groups have grown. adding to concerns that math inequality is spreading along multiple lines.
Part of the problem, the brief says, is that districts are not treating math as a top system priority.. District leaders, according to the report, rank math third—behind English language arts and social-emotional learning.. The gap in emphasis is stark: while 63% of districts list English language arts as their top priority. only 16% rank math first.
That lower priority shows up in staffing and training, where challenges are most acute in high-need communities.. The report says districts serving the greatest needs face the hardest time hiring and retaining math teachers.. At the same time. it notes that many elementary teachers receive limited math instruction during their 15-month post-graduate credentialing preparation. and that after hiring. ongoing professional development is often thin.
In many districts, professional learning for math is not consistently available or required.. The brief reports that one in five districts offered no consistent math training during the 2024-25 period. and that most professional development opportunities were voluntary.. When training depends on teacher choice. the report argues. teachers who feel less confident or less interested in math are less likely to attend. leaving gaps unaddressed.
The brief also describes a disconnect between state guidance and what happens in classrooms.. California adopted a new and controversial math framework in 2023 with a grade-by-grade guide meant to help districts implement the state’s math standards.. Yet many districts, the report says, are not fully deploying the framework or training teachers on how to use it.. Only about a quarter of district leaders say the framework drives their math lessons. while 30% say it is not a driver at all.
School leaders interviewed in the report cite practical obstacles to using the framework at scale.. One issue is its length—described in the brief as running to 900 pages.. Another is the framework’s emphasis on teaching the concepts behind math procedures.. The research includes remarks from leaders indicating that elementary teachers may not have deep content knowledge in math. making conceptual teaching difficult.
The brief links that implementation friction to a broader pattern: the system may be designing instruction for the most prepared teachers. while leaving many others struggling with the expectations.. It describes leaders arguing that some training and planning assumes only a small fraction of staff can readily deliver concept-focused lessons. while the majority feel unprepared.
Curriculum choice is another area where researchers say California’s structure may be creating uneven outcomes.. The State Board recently approved dozens of math textbooks and instructional materials—64 in total—based on reviewer findings that they align with state standards.. But the brief argues that without clearer guidance. districts are left to vet options themselves. a task that becomes harder when districts lack time or expertise.. Researchers compare this approach to the state’s early literacy reforms. where a smaller list of evidence-based curricula is expected and districts will be required to choose from it.
Test results also reflect how math proficiency changes as students progress.. The brief reports that math proficiency declines between third and eighth grade: on the 2025 Smarter Balanced tests. 46% of students were proficient in third grade. dropping to 33% in eighth grade.. It says gaps by ethnicity widen during the same period. following the same pattern. while reading scores do not show the same kind of decline.
Huffaker, the doctoral candidate who authored the brief, argues that the early pattern matters.. The report says students who struggle in math in the early grades are often left behind and rarely catch up.. That dynamic, the brief suggests, can turn early gaps into long-term learning barriers rather than solvable short-term setbacks.
The consequences extend beyond test scores.. The brief warns that weaker math performance can limit high school course-taking and narrow future options.. It describes how the share of students taking algebra in eighth grade has collapsed over five years.. In 2012-13. the report says about 64% of eighth graders took algebra—an overlap with the implementation of the Common Core standards—while by 2018-2019 the share had dropped to 19%.. Many middle schools, the brief says, eliminated Algebra as an option.
When algebra is pushed to later grades. the report says. students have a harder time reaching advanced coursework such as Calculus. which is often needed for STEM pathways in college.. This issue is particularly concerning. the brief adds. for low-income Black and Latino students. whose schools are more likely to have limited Algebra availability even though they could potentially succeed with access to the course.
The brief also flags a policy gap within the math framework itself. While it endorses middle school acceleration for some students, it does not offer clear guidance on who qualifies for Algebra I, researchers say.
The report’s authors frame the broader challenge as a need for sustained state-level math investment similar to what California has done in literacy.. Huffaker points to Alabama as an example of what sustained prioritization can look like nationally.. The brief notes that Alabama. like Mississippi in reading. posted large gains on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress. often called the Nation’s Report Card.. It attributes part of Alabama’s approach to a 2022 Numeracy Act that created an Office of Mathematics Improvement. revised teacher preparation. and funded a full-time math coach in every elementary school.
California’s own movement toward a stronger math focus. the brief says. appeared to be starting—but then ran into budget roadblocks.. It reports that Gov.. Gavin Newsom proposed $220 million in the state budget for hiring math coaches. that the funding appeared in a May budget revision. and then vanished in final negotiations. according to a Kern County school official who helped lead curriculum and instruction work.
Still, some funding survived.. The brief says a $50 million allocation over two years remained for the first step of the Mathematics Professional Learning Project led through regional county offices of education and the university-led California Mathematics Project.. The effort is intended to build a statewide support network for math leaders and coaches inside districts.
The report includes a caution from the project lead about what happens next. While coaches and mentors are expected to provide ongoing guidance—especially for young teachers in the early grades—the brief says districts are instead making cuts that can move coaches back into classrooms.
It also emphasizes what the coaching model is meant to enable.. The project lead supports the 2023 math framework’s emphasis on students building understanding of math concepts rather than simply following procedures. arguing that concept-focused instruction requires ongoing professional development and coaching rather than a one-time training.
The final push. researchers and education advocates argue. is about creating a linked system—policy. funding. and day-to-day supports—that keeps math as a continuing priority rather than a temporary initiative.. Huffaker’s argument. as reflected in the brief. is that California could build progress through that kind of sustained. connected approach.
Meanwhile, advocacy efforts are also turning toward early detection.. The brief states that Marshall Tuck. a leader in California’s literacy reforms and CEO of the nonprofit EdVoice. is co-sponsoring legislation that would require an early-grade math screener to identify students struggling with math.. He argues that what’s needed is a comprehensive strategy for math—one that identifies students early and backs teachers with the support to respond effectively.
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