Texas students continue to struggle with math after experiencing significant learning disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest statewide test results show students have not recovered in basic math skills.
Across all grade levels, the tests revealed that roughly 41% of the state’s children are at or above grade level in mathematics, said Gabe Grantham, a policy adviser for Texas 2036.
That’s down two points from last year and nine percentage points below Texas’ STAAR results before the pandemic, Grantham said.
The declines come in the wake of disruptions caused by the pandemic, budget constraints, chronic absenteeism and a growing number of uncertified educators and teacher vacancies.
Although families can’t control systemic issues within school districts, there are ways they can support their children to help improve their performance.
Review your child’s STAAR results
Parents and families can view their child’s individual STAAR results and answers to each question on the test by visiting their school district’s family portal or TexasAssessment.gov. Parents should receive a unique access code from their child’s school.
In the STAAR portal, parents can see what their students struggled with and review the answers they got wrong. This can be used as a blueprint for the math skills children need to work on understanding.
Parents are advised to contact their children’s teachers to further understand how they can support them, said Andrew Hodge, an associate commissioner with the Texas Education Agency.
Communication with the school is key as parents try to understand STAAR results, Hodge said.
Include children in the conversation
Mary Lynn Pruneda, a senior policy adviser at Texas 2036, recommends opening up the conversation with children on what they struggled with at school.
“Was there anything that was particularly hard for you this year? Is there any way that you’d like to learn with mom or dad or grandma or grandpa over the summer?” she suggests asking.
Once parents have a good understanding of the areas in which their children are struggling, they are able to create a plan to support their learning.
Work on the basics
Math requires a strong foundation because it is a cumulative subject. In order to work on more complex exercises, students must grasp the basics.
Simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are part of the foundation toolkit.
It is also important to make sure students understand math vocabulary. Words like “denominator” or “average” are foundational as they learn more advanced topics.
“Practicing those skills with them, supporting them in building their math skills, especially over the summer, is going to be key,” said Sile Robinson, managing director of middle grades initiatives at advocacy nonprofit The Commit Partnership.
Find additional support
Parents are not always able to support their children with math and some children might need additional help.
Reaching out to the student’s school and teachers is a great way to learn about additional resources the school district might provide.
Research has found that tutoring with a small group of children is effective in helping students catch up, Hodge said.
“In Texas, districts are required to provide kids who failed the STAAR with tutoring,” he added.
The tutoring can come from the schools’ own teachers or through contracts with nonprofits or other organizations.
Another way to support children struggling with math is to opt for summer school. Hodge said summer school is often a fun and safe environment for students to keep up with their learning.
“Summer school should not be punitive,” he said. The additional support should not be used to replace extracurricular activities students enjoy, but rather to be added on top of their schedule to get them where they need to be academically.
Planning ahead of next school year
Robinson, with Commit, said parent involvement and engagement with the school is critical for student success.
As families prepare ahead of next school year, she recommends parents have regular conversations with their child’s teacher to stay informed on how things are going in class.
That way, “we’re not waiting until STAAR results to see what skills their students might be struggling with,” Robinson said.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
