Everyone needs foundational math skills. Numeracy predicts higher earnings, better health, and increased access to fast-growing jobs. Algebra is the gateway to advanced math and to many college and workforce programs. Yet America has a math problem—and it didn’t start with Covid.
After two decades of gains, national math performance peaked around 2013 and has continued sliding ever since, with the steepest losses among our lowest-performing students. On the 2024 Nation’s Report Card, nearly four in ten eighth graders scored Below Basic, and achievement gaps are at historic highs.
How did we get here? Our research points to no single cause, but people point the finger in many directions. Smartphones, social media, and chronic absenteeism clearly matter, and ignoring their effects would be foolish. But elevating them as the main drivers of math decline is a costly mistake. The quiet and painful truth is that students aren’t learning math because they aren’t getting effective math instruction.
In CRPE’s 2025 State of the American Student report, we reviewed national assessments, state report cards, high-quality research, and bright spot examples of schools where math scores are rising. We identified four systemic issues undermining math instruction that leaders must confront.
First, the supply of qualified math teachers has eroded. The number of teacher-prep graduates prepared to teach math fell 36% from 2012 to 2020; over half of middle-school math teachers lack a math or math education degree. Vacancies and “out-of-field” assignments hit high-poverty schools hardest. “We basically teach ourselves,” one student told the Math Narrative Project.
Second, math teaching strategies backed by evidence aren’t consistently reaching classrooms, especially explicit instruction that builds procedural fluency and conceptual understanding. Much like how schools once underemphasized phonics in reading, they are now getting misleading guidance about the role of explicit instruction in math.
Third, schools aren’t built to catch up students who miss key skills. Math learning is cumulative: miss a precursor skill in third grade, and algebra becomes a wall. Today, one-fifth of students are below grade level by grade five, and roughly one-third by grade eight. These gaps are preventable, but only by generating real-time data on learning progress, enabling quick intervention, and tailoring support for each student.
And fourth, at the same time as standards and accountability have weakened, grade inflation and opaque reporting make it hard for families to see where kids truly stand. Only eight states provide clear, accessible report cards that let parents compare schools on math performance and opportunity. Over 40% of grades are inflated, meaning parents are not getting the truth about what students know and don’t know.
None of this means phones, disengagement, or absenteeism are red herrings. Chronic absenteeism roughly doubled from pre-pandemic levels at its peak, and 40% of high schoolers reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023. But directing too much attention to these external problems risks distracting schools from fixing what they can control: consistent access to effective instruction, delivered by prepared teachers, within a system that identifies gaps quickly and closes them.
The good news: we know what works. Ector County, TX, solved for teacher vacancies and tied tutoring payments to student growth. Their third- through eighth-grade math performance has rebounded to 2013 levels—and that was before the district banned student cell phone use starting this year. Alabama has posted the nation’s strongest fourth-grade math growth since 2019 by combining high-quality materials, coaching, and focused training. These strategies complement statewide efforts to improve school attendance, which are also paying off.
These aren’t miracles. They’re systems. Improving math outcomes means focusing on what works. Teach what the science says students need: explicit instruction, plenty of practice, and engaging lessons that build fluency alongside conceptual understanding. Math teachers’ professional associations are not doing this well, and states can step up (and even band together) to reduce confusion for districts. Make evidence-based practices non-negotiable in struggling schools. Tell the truth with clear data on growth, subgroup results, Algebra readiness, and course access, backed by accountability that pairs high expectations with real support. Staff creatively by paying more for shortage roles, prioritizing high-need schools, growing math specialists and master teachers, and piloting team-teaching. And fix the leaky pipeline with early diagnostics, in-day tutoring tied to core instruction, and multiple on-ramps to higher-level math—so a missed week never turns into a lost year.
But to engage in this work meaningfully, states must first set a bold goal for the future, like preparing all students for Algebra I by eighth grade by 2030, and track progress towards it. Getting eighth graders ready for Algebra I doesn’t have to be every state’s goal, but they should pick something equally measurable and concrete. Without a clear end in mind, states won’t have a defined path towards accelerating improvement. Whichever goal states choose, they should also guarantee help for the students who’ve fallen furthest behind and prioritize improving their foundational skills with proven interventions.
Phones and absenteeism are noisy problems. Instruction is a quiet but obvious one. If we aim the system only at the loudest noises, we’ll miss the fix. Aim for high-quality teaching and learning for all, and America’s students will climb again.
