3 Ways to Fix Math’s Racial Divide

By Aziah Siid Originally appeared in Word in Black Some of the highest-paying jobs —& data scientist, software engineer, actuary —& require proficiency in mathematics. But every time a Black child is funneled into a lower level of math, made to feel like they’re “not a math person,” or taught by an unskilled teacher, it becomes less likely they’ll grow up and get one of those jobs& & Indeed, math scores for Black 13-year-olds dropped a staggering 13 points between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years, according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data. That’s more than double the 6-point decline for white students over the same period.& Now, a new report from RAND pinpoints three reasons why K-8 students in public schools across the United States aren’t making progress in math: the grouping of students by achievement levels for mathematics instruction — also known as tracking — underqualified teachers, and the lack of effective supports for struggling students. “K–12 public schools have long wrestled with the dilemma of ensuring that all children have equitable learning opportunities in mathematics while also attending to diverse needs that often require different instructional strategies and approaches,” the researchers wrote in the...