States Focus on Improving Math Education

Alexandria, VA—Nearly every state has seen K-12 math proficiency decline over the past decade, with a pronounced drop on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2022 and widening achievement gaps across student groups and income. In response, states like Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina are launching or expanding statewide efforts to strengthen math instruction, drawing on lessons from recent literacy initiatives. A new NASBE policy update highlights key elements of these plans and the strategies driving them.

• North Carolina leaders are expanding career-relevant offerings in grades 11 and 12 and updating their K-12 standards to ensure more coherence across grades.
• Maryland leaders are also revising math standards and introducing a new two-year Integrated Algebra course that combine algebra, geometry, and statistics “to showcase their interconnected nature,” according to the state board’s plan.
• The Illinois plan emphasizes preparation and training for both teachers and school leaders that is targeted to high-quality instructional materials in math.

Across states, plans center on making math more engaging, accessible, and relevant, while ensuring better alignment of standards across grades, strengthening interventions for struggling students, and balancing procedural math fluency with conceptual understanding. They also emphasize analytical skills and real-world problem solving, as well as stronger preparation and support for educators to teach math effectively.

Just as math learning is something every student can do, state leaders engaged in this work stress that advancing math learning is something all state boards of education can elevate. “All of this can be done—at any state board. It is first about saying that math achievement is a priority,” said Maryland State Board President Josh Michael.

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