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As the nation鈥檚 school children struggle to make gains in mathematics 鈥� and continue to fall short of pre-pandemic achievement levels 鈥� reveals a related challenge: schools鈥� difficulty in hiring well-qualified math teachers. 

Nearly half of 1,471 education leaders who responded to the analytics company鈥檚 December query reported that the task was “very challenging” and far worse than finding strong English language or social studies applicants.

鈥淭he pool of certified math teachers is small, and the demand is high, particularly for candidates who are ready to support student learning from day one,鈥� said Nicole Paxton, assistant principal and athletic director of Mountain Vista Community School in Colorado Springs. 鈥淚n our district, we鈥檝e experienced a growing number of math openings with only a handful of candidates to consider 鈥� many of whom are international applicants requiring sponsorship or visas.鈥�

Another lends insight into a possible reason why: Only 1 in 8 elementary teacher preparation programs nationwide devote adequate time to teaching fundamental math content topics, including numbers and operations, algebraic thinking, geometry and measurement 鈥� plus data analysis and probability. 

The National Council on Teacher Quality, which released the teacher preparation study April 8, found 鈥嬧�媡he average undergraduate program dedicates 85 hours of instructional time to foundational math content knowledge 鈥� 20 hours short of what the organization recommends. 

Graduate programs devote even less time to the topic 鈥� 14 hours total 鈥� with only 5% meeting or approaching the minimum recommendation of 150 hours. The council said 22% of undergraduate programs earned an 鈥淔鈥� for their performance in this area: More than 80% of graduate level programs also earned this failing grade. 

鈥淭eachers need to know how to do more than just follow the steps in math to get the right answer,鈥� Heather Peske, the organization鈥檚 president, said in a statement. 鈥淭hey need to know why those steps work. It鈥檚 like the difference between a basketball player and a coach. The player can learn their role and follow directions, but the coach needs to understand the bigger picture, the why behind every move.鈥�

Michael Rubin, principal of Uxbridge High School in Massachusetts, roughly 60 miles southwest of Boston, said finding high-quality teachers of any subject is difficult, particularly in math and science.  

鈥淲hen we deal with even more advanced levels of mathematics, with highly specialized content, the number of educators is even more limited,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y father was a math teacher for 39 years, and not a year has gone by since he retired nine years ago where a principal has not reached out and asked him if he is willing or able to come in to teach, tutor or substitute.鈥�

Indeed, Gallup poll responders said the problem was even more acute in later grades where the math curriculum gets harder: 64% of principals said this was 鈥渧ery challenging鈥� at the high school level versus 56% at the middle school and 23% at the elementary level.

The struggle can also be seen in lower-income and rural communities, like Sheridan County School District #3 in Clearmont, Wyoming, which enrolls just 83 students K-12. Chase Christensen, who serves as both superintendent and district principal, said staff are frequently asked to take on other roles.

Next fall, he said, a physical education teacher will lead advanced mathematics classes 鈥� they will focus on pre-algebra, geometry, statistics and probability 鈥� at the middle school level while he works toward earning his certification in that subject. Christensen said he鈥檚 grateful for his staff鈥檚鈥� flexibility. 

鈥淲hen we all sit down and take a hard look at what the needs of the school are, people just step up and we figure out how it is going to work,鈥� he said.  

Stephanie Marken, a senior partner at Gallup leading its U.S. custom research division, said schools鈥� trouble finding quality math instructors is particularly concerning because these teachers play a pivotal role in making this often tough subject palatable.  

鈥淚f you have a highly engaged teacher who鈥檚 really committed and qualified in that subject area, we know that it brings math education to life in a way that you just can鈥檛 do otherwise,鈥� Marken said. 

Math anxiety, the fear that students 鈥� 鈥� share about this subject further harms their opportunity and ability to succeed in it. 

鈥淲e know that a lot of students have negative emotions surrounding math and that there鈥檚 a lot of pressure that math places upon students,鈥� Marken said. 鈥淲e know that the teacher makes a big difference in breaking down math and making it feel really relevant and achievable.鈥�

Paxton, of Colorado Springs, said her district employs several strategies to manage the problem. It supports teachers on visas and those coming from alternative certification pathways through monthly meetings that focus on best practices, classroom management and cultural assimilation. 

It also works with which has, for three decades, recruited college graduates to teach in high-need schools for two years. Plus, it’s built a solid relationship with its local university鈥檚 teacher training program and has launched a 鈥済row your own鈥� pipeline to support teacher aides in earning their bachelor鈥檚 degrees, completing internships in the district and ultimately becoming licensed teachers there.

鈥淭hese layered supports and creative recruitment efforts are our response to a national challenge,鈥� Paxton said. 

Gallup鈥檚 Math Matters Study went beyond schools鈥� issues with hiring to families鈥� experience on campus: While roughly a third of the 808 parents who responded said their children receive some math tutoring, only 13% received such help more than weekly. Gallup notes that prior research shows  high-quality math tutoring can improve achievement by an additional three to 15 months of learning, 鈥渂ut the most impactful tutoring programs must include frequent sessions 鈥� three times a week or more.鈥�

Roughly a third of parents said they would enroll their child in tutoring if it was available or more accessible.

Parents also reported a lack of communication about the subject on the part of educators: One in six said they 鈥渘ever鈥� hear from their child鈥檚 school about the goals for their child鈥檚 math learning or what their student is learning in math class. 

The survey showed, too, a lack of understanding 鈥� and consensus 鈥� among educators about what constitutes high-quality instructional materials, curriculum aligned to college- and career-ready standards: 37% of all education leaders said they were 鈥渘ot at all familiar鈥� with or 鈥渘ot very familiar with鈥� the concept. 

Sixty-eight percent of school superintendents and 46% of school principals said their building or district had no official definition of the term. But when supplied with a definition by Gallup, which identified high-quality instructional materials as those 鈥渨hich are standards-aligned and use evidence-based practices for the content area,” 69% said most or all of their math curriculum qualified. 

Professional development proved an added challenge. Thirty-nine percent of educators surveyed rated their own school鈥檚 math-related professional development as 鈥渇air鈥� or 鈥減oor.鈥� This statistic was worse at the high school level where 6% said it was poor and 39% said it was fair. 

The Gates Foundation sponsored the Math Matters Study and provides financial support to 社区黑料.

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