Calling all education leaders and educators who teach mathematics! We hope you are enjoying your well-earned summer break. We at the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) would like to share our heartfelt gratitude for your dedication and hard work serving our nation’s children. Teachers, we know what it takes to create engaging lesson plans that meet the needs of diverse learners, provide academic and emotional support to your students, and foster a sense of community and belonging in your classroom. Education leaders, we also know that you are working to prepare educators for this coming school year. Since 2008, NCSER has funded a range of studies focused on improving mathematics instruction in areas such as understanding of whole numbers, fractions, word problem solving, and algebraic reasoning, which are the building blocks of success in secondary mathematics and beyond. Based on what we're finding through our funded projects, we would like to share some resources with you to support work to improve mathematics instruction and learning—especially for students with or at risk for disabilities that affect mathematics—in the 2024-25 school year. WWC Mathematics Practice Guides The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guides are written specifically for educators and summarize interventions and instructional practices for which there is the strongest evidence for improving outcomes for learners. The following WWC Practice Guides can be useful to support educators in strengthening mathematics instruction: Teaching Math to Young Children Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 to 8 Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning Evidence-Based Math Interventions Below are five examples of NCSER-funded interventions that have demonstrated improved outcomes in mathematics for learners with or at risk for a disability that affects mathematics. Numbershire is a digital math game with an intensive focus on critical whole number concepts and skills for students in kindergarten through second grade. Published findings from an efficacy study indicate significant effects favoring the learners using Numbershire on proximal measures of whole-number concepts and skills. Whole Number Foundations Level K is a kindergarten math intervention that provides in-depth instruction on critical whole number concepts, including counting and cardinality, operations and algebraic thinking, and number operations in base 10. Published findings from a replication efficacy trial of the intervention, originally called ROOTS, showed that students who received ROOTS in a small group of 2 or 5 students outperformed students in the control group. Whole Number Foundations Level 1 is a first grade intervention aimed at developing understanding of whole numbers. Published findings from an efficacy trial of the intervention, initially called FUSION, showed a significant effect on improving student math performance. The strongest effects on student outcomes at a follow-up assessment the next school year were among smaller groups of students (2:1) compared to the slightly larger groups. Pirate Math Equation Quest is a third grade intervention tested using two version of the tutoring program—one using equations to solve word problems and one using word-problem instruction alone. Published findings showed that students in both intervention groups significantly outperformed students in the control group with large effect sizes. At follow up (grade 4), only students in the group focusing on using equations (pre-algebra reasoning) significantly outperformed the control group on a measure of word problem solving. Super Solvers is a fraction intervention for grades 4-5 delivered in small groups of students with or at risk for math learning disabilities. The intervention was tested with interleaved calculation instruction (learning two or more related concepts or skills, instead of focusing exclusively on one concept or skill) and blocked calculation instruction (learning one concept or skill at a time). Published findings showed that students in the intervention group significantly outperformed the control group. At follow up a year later, the two intervention groups still significantly outperformed the control group, but the group with interleaved calculation instruction made greater gains than the blocked calculations group. IES Math Summit 2023 In 2023, IES held a Math Summit  focused on evidence-based instructional practices, including presentations by some of our NCSER grantees who have developed and tested interventions to improve outcomes for learners with or at risk for disabilities. Below, we share links to these recorded sessions to support your professional learning. Strategies for Differentiating Instruction for Diverse Learners (Grades Pre-K-3) Strategies for Differentiating Instruction for Diverse Learners, Dr. Lynn Fuchs, Vanderbilt University (Grades PreK-3) Education Technology as a Tool for Effective Differentiation, Dr. Nancy Nelson, Boston University High-Dose Tutoring and Other Academic Recovery Strategies (Grades PreK-3) Utilizing the Curriculum Research Framework to Develop, Test, and Explore the Impacts of Interventions, Dr. Ben Clarke, University of Oregon (Grades PreK-3) Making Mathematics Interventions Work for Struggling Learners: 2021 What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide, Dr. Lynn Fuchs, Vanderbilt University (Grades 4–8) A Fraction Sense Intervention Grounded in the Science of Learning, Dr. Nancy Jordan, University of Delaware Language and Mathematics, Including Support for English Learners (Grades 4-8) Math Supports for Students with Reading Difficulties, Dr. Steve Ritter, Carnegie Learning Increasing Opportunities to Learn and Raising Expectations for All (Grades 9-12) Seeing Growth in Algebra, Dr. Anne Foegen, University of Minnesota Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our nation’s learners. We hope these resources will energize you for the exciting challenges that lie ahead. This blog was produced by Sarah Brasiel (Sarah.Brasiel@ed.gov), a program officer for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics portfolio in the National Center for Special Education Research.

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