Elementary Mathematics

With the Teacher Prep Review, NCTQ evaluates elementary teacher preparation programs against research-based standards that are proven to have a substantial impact on teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes.

Math matters. Higher math scores for elementary-age students tend to translate to higher earnings as adults.¹ In fact, math scores predict future earnings better than reading scores. Early math skills are also a strong predictor of success in other subjects, like reading and science, and even grade retention from kindergarten through eighth grade.² Students need opportunities to develop a strong foundation in the elementary years. Due to the cumulative nature of math, students who struggle early on may never catch up.

Unfortunately, many elementary students in the United States do not receive adequate math instruction. Nearly one-quarter of fourth graders, over 850,000 children in the U.S.,³ lack basic math knowledge and skills, such as the ability to locate numbers on a number line or subtract multidigit whole numbers.⁴

Improving math achievement for students starts with ensuring that their teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to be effective. Teacher preparation programs are well situated to play a key role in solving the math problem by providing aspiring teachers with the time they need to develop deep content knowledge of the math they'll teach and the pedagogical knowledge of how to teach it.