Early Math Matters - Southern Regional Education Board

Early Math Matters
Factoring in Teacher Knowledge and Practice

Publication June 20, 2019 June 201936 pages(19E03)

This report explains why early math learning is so important, the current state of math instruction, issues with elementary teacher preparation and professional development, and how math anxiety impacts achievement. It also presents recommendations state leaders can use to help raise the math achievement of their students.

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Why Do We Say “I’m Bad at Math”?
How math anxiety affects performance, and what we can do about it

We’ve all likely heard someone say, “I’m bad at math,” or even “I hate math.” In the United States, math is too often considered a subject that either comes naturally or doesn’t — there are “math people,” and everyone else can expect to struggle with it. If you stop and think, though, this makes as much sense as saying we’re all naturally good (or bad) at sports, or music, or writing. It’s true that becoming skilled in any of these areas may come more easily to some people than others, but we generally understand that no one becomes expert at baseball without learning the game and spending a lot of time practicing.

Blog post July 16, 2019 Samantha DurranceSREB Policy Analyst

Graph with percentages of teachers with a degree in math or math education in 2018.

Giving Elementary Teachers the Tools to Teach Math Well
Broad preparation can leave math-specific knowledge lacking

It’s no secret that aspiring teachers with strong math backgrounds tend to be drawn toward the secondary grades, where they can just teach math. In fact, results of the 2018 National Survey of Science and Math Education showed that just 3 percent of elementary teachers surveyed held a degree in mathematics or math education, compared with 45 percent of middle grades math teachers and 79 percent of high school math teachers.

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Early Math Matters
Factoring in Teacher Knowledge and Practice