Mathematics Education

Mathematics proficiency provides students with the foundational skills they need to succeed as adults. For those seeking careers in fields such as science, engineering, cybersecurity, or medicine, for example, strong math outcomes are especially important.

We emphasize using data and evidence-based approaches to improve students’ understanding of and fluency with math concepts, as well as their skill in math problem solving, communication, and reasoning.

Yet, among fourth and eighth graders, math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have decreased significantly since 2020. Fewer students across the country are learning basic math skills, which can also affect graduation rates, college readiness, and meaningful employment.

AIR experts conduct research and development, technical assistance, and evaluation projects focused on innovative math professional development, teaching, and learning programs designed to improve student math outcomes.

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Our Expertise

Research and Development

AIR is an evaluation and learning partner to foundations and their grantees to study and refine math programs intended to improve student outcomes.
We develop professional learning and coaching programs in math to enhance teachers’ content knowledge, use of evidence-based math instructional approaches, and instructional alignment to state standards.

Technical Assistance

Our experts design and facilitate networked improvement communities where teachers use inquiry methods to test and refine evidence-based math instructional strategies for use in classrooms.
We support school math coaches to build their capacity to provide instructional assistance to teachers.

Evaluation

AIR evaluates math programs, including those that use Artificial Intelligence (AI), educational technology platforms, math content situated in real-world math scenarios, and mastery-based learning to improve student math outcomes.
Our teams examine how to scale evidence-based math programs to provide teachers with a mechanism for addressing grade-level standards, while providing support for students who need more time on prior grade level material.