David Boyle: Can Alaska replicate the Alabama math miracle?

By DAVID BOYLE

The Alaska Reads Act, passed by the legislature in 2022, has resulted in some districts improving reading proficiency by students by a significant margin.  The act is modeled after the “Mississippi Miracle” by which the State of Mississippi went from 49th in 4^th grade reading to 9th in the nation according to the NAEP tests.

Now Alabama has created its own “Math Miracle”, leading the nation in “math recovery” since 2017.

In 2017, Alabama was ranked 47 out of 53 states and jurisdictions in 4^th grade math on the nation’s NAEP test.  And Alaska was ranked 50 out of 53 states in 4^th grade math on the same test.  There was virtually no significant difference in their scores.

But there was a significant change in Alabama’s scores in 2024.  Check this chart out and note the large increase in Alabama’s 4^th grade NAEP test scores:

Also note that both Alaska and the national average scores decreased over that same period.  A ten-point difference in scores reflects a one year in academic grade levels so that the difference between Alabama’s 4^th graders in math and Alaska’s 4^th graders is one whole year in learning.

Here’s an even more amazing data point: Alabama moved from 52nd (second to last) in 2019 to 32^nd in 2024 in NAEP, the largest improvement in the nation.

What did Alabama do that helped its students improve in national math test results?

In 2018, Alabama developed a strategic plan that included evidence-based K-5 math instruction.  In 2022, the state legislature passed the Numeracy Act and established the Office of Mathematics Improvement to monitor the implementation of evidence-based math. They created standards/metrics that they tracked.

And Alaska can do the same without reinventing the proverbial “wheel”.

Representative Jubilee Underwood, (R, Wasilla), has filed HB 237 to do just that.

HB 237 requires instructional materials to align with state standards.  Currently, state standards align with Common Core standards in most aspects.  Alabama developed new standards that moved it away from Common Core.

Foundational math is extremely important in the early elementary grades.  That means children should be learning their times tables, learning their place values, and learning their subtraction and addition concepts.  Saxon Math is one of the best for foundational math in elementary schools.

Some schools in the Anchorage School District use this math program and its students excel.  Northern Lights ABC, Aquarian Charter School, and Birchwood ABC score well above 60% proficiency in 4^thgrade math.  In contrast, only 32% of students statewide are proficient in math.

HB 237 also requires “professional development that uses evidence-based practices to support teachers and administrators on topics that include developing mathematical proficiency, using data from the standards-based assessments used by the district to build evidence-based teaching practices, and providing mathematical intervention and advanced mathematics tracks to students as appropriate”.

The bill requires students to be assessed within the first 30 days of school.  Those students that are not adequately proficient are to be provided with a mathematics improvement plan which details extra hours of dedicated instruction.  And parents must be notified of the plan and student progress monthly.

Here’s the plan in summary: high quality curricula aligned to state standards; professional development to ensure teachers are familiar with evidence-based teaching practices; intervention and remediation of students who lack math proficiency; and advanced math tracks for those students who excel.

The bill should also address requirements for UA teacher training programs to ensure future educators are well-equipped to teach math effectively.  This would mandate similar requirements for the university system as was done for the Alaska Reads Act.  Teachers need to be trained in the best math practices before they enter the classroom.

Alaska students are just as smart as Alabama students, maybe even smarter.

And it’s time to help our students become proficient in math so they can be career and college ready.

We cracked the reading problem despite all the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done.

Reading and math are two key elements for a successful life.  We cannot continue to fail our children with a lot of excuses about why it can’t be done.  Alabama proved it can be done.  All we need is the political will.

David Boyle is a longtime Alaskan who writes on education topics for The Alaska Story.

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