‘Mathematics Supports Act’ seeks to provide better math education in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new bill from Maury County Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) wants to improve the way math is taught in Tennessee.
According to Cepicky, the aim of the “Mathematics Supports Act” is to look at how the state can improve math outcomes for students.
While there have been significant investments into researching ways to improve reading comprehension and achievement in the state, Cepicky said the same intention hasn’t yet been paid to the way math is taught in Tennessee.
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“We are kind of in the frontier of this bill, of trying to develop a program on how we’re going to deliver mathematics to our students in Tennessee in a more uniform manner, because of the fluency and the flexibility of how people move around the state right now, even district to district,” he told News 2. “We’re trying to build this from the ground floor with really not much help out there.”
He first floated the idea back in November, telling News 2’s Chris O’Brien it would look similar to the state’s third-grade reading retention law, just without the retention powers.
He reiterated the lack of retention in this bill, saying because math is taught in two-year cycles in building block fashion, it would more likely have a mechanism that takes advantage of summer school, which is already built into the budget each year.
“It’s already piggybacked in there all ready to go; everything’s already laid out,” he said. “There’s no retention built in there, because there’s really no reason to.”
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Part of the bill, which has now been filed, dictates the Tennessee Department of Education to create a “mathematics expert review committee” that will evaluate current standards around the country and bring some of those practices to the state in the future.
One aspect of the findings, per the bill, will be looking at professional development for educators on how best to educate students in mathematics, according to Cepicky.
“I think what you’re going to really look at is how do states with high mathematics scores get the professional development for the teachers so that we can make sure that they’re all trained in a more uniform way to deliver mathematics in a more efficient and concise manner to our students and then build on that,” he said.
According to Cepicky, one issue with math education lies in how districts approach the subject. While some districts focus more on numeracy, or rote memorization of figures, other districts chose a more fluency-based approach. The best practice, Cepicky said, is a combination of the two.
“We have standards in mathematics on what we want them to learn, but not how to deliver it,” Cepicky said of current mathematics standards in Tennessee.
The bill would be the first of its kind on the subject, according to Cepicky, with other states looking to Tennessee for how to move forward.
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“This is the new frontier in mathematics: how are we going to do this? Because everyone’s been so focused on reading,” he said. “We think that if we do this right in three through eight, not only will our scores and our proficiency rates go up in three through eight, when kids get into high school, they’ll be more successful, which means when they go to college, they won’t need to take remedial coursework anymore,” he said. “They’ll be able to get through college more quickly and more efficiently, which means it saves them money in student loans.”
If passed, the bill would set the groundwork for the exploratory group to begin and have it deliver results to the state by 2025.
Hundreds of bills will be up for debate during the 113th General Assembly. Tennessee lawmakers shared their thoughts on some of the major issues up for discussion at this year’s legislative session.
You can also find daily coverage from the session here.
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