AUSTIN — A groundbreaking new report highlights a concerning trend: Texas is falling behind other states in equipping students with mathematics, a critical skill for the future workforce.
While learning disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the problem, the report details a decade-long decline in math performance across Texas and shows that improving math outcomes is not an unsolvable problem.
In “Solving for X: Math Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for the Lone Star State,” the nonpartisan public policy organization Texas 2036 provides answers. Its key findings: • 55% of Texas students are below grade level in math.
• A 21-point decline has been recorded in the percentage of Texas eighth-grade students at or above “basic” in math since 2011.
• Less than 50% of Texas high school graduates meet college readiness benchmarks in math.
• Only 10% of parents believe their child is performing below grade level in math.
Nearly 80% of the fastest-growing occupations are in STEM fields — those related to science, technology, engineering and math.
Despite the economic imperative, this new report shows a significant gap between parents’ perceptions of how their students are doing and their actual performance.
“No matter which data you examine, the same troubling trend emerges; Texas has a problem with math proficiency,” Gabe Grantham, policy advisor at Texas 2036, said.
“The challenge isn’t new and has been worsening long before the pandemic,” Grantham said. “Alarmingly, too few parents are aware of this growing math crisis.”
Thankfully, he said, Texas legislators have already begun to address the challenge will again have the opportunity during the next legislative session “to adopt effective interventions that will improve student performance.”
In recent years, Texas has started to take steps to address math performance, including a new bipartisan law passed last year that accelerates math learning in middle school, regardless of students’ socioeconomic background or geographic location.
However, to improve our standing in mathematics and workforce readiness nationally, Texas must continue to build on these efforts. This means accelerating student interventions, further developing teacher training programs, and improving communication with parents about their children’s status.
“The ability of Texas to lead and attract top industries hinges on equipping our workforce with essential STEM skills,” David Leebron, former Rice University president and incoming Texas 2036 President and CEO, said.
“Math skills are essential to college success and to realizing the aspirations students have in a wide variety of endeavors,” Leebron said. “While we’ve started to take steps to address declining math skills, the mission is far from complete.”
Texas 2036 data and research demonstrate “that we must escalate our efforts, drawing on proven strategies to ensure students and our state’s workforce are ready for the jobs of the future,” he added.
The new report outlines a comprehensive array of policy options, inspired by successful strategies from other states and innovative local initiatives, including: • Producing high-quality professional development and coaching to ensure teachers are equipped with tools to help struggling students.
• Utilizing math “screeners”— short diagnostics that identify who is struggling and what types of support they need to progress toward grade-level goals—in early grades and promptly notifying parents of identified difficulties.
• Providing parents with resources to support tailored “math-at-home” instruction.
The gap between perception and reality in children’s math skills is a wake-up call for all Texans, according to Mary Lynn Pruneda, senior policy advisor at Texas 2036.
“Successful initiatives in other states demonstrate that significant improvement in math performance is possible,” Pruneda said.
“Texas has an opportunity,” she added, “to ensure that its students are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to embrace the promise of the growing STEM economy.”
To learn more about how Texas schools can reverse declines in math achievement among students, visit Texas2036.org/math.
Merrill Davis is vice president of communications for Texas 2036.
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