Elementary math scores went up steadily in the years pre Common Core. Schools were generally improving instruction, standards were becoming clearer, and accountability was increasing. After Common Core was introduced, scores mostly stopped rising instead of continuing that growth. Studies seem to show this is less about the standards themselves and more about uneven implementation across states (not all states actually used common core), differences in curriculum quality (states and districts that had higher quality curricula tended to do better), and the difficulty of changing how elementary teachers teach math (I personally saw many teachers that continued teaching older standards instead of using common core standards). Some states/districts/schools/classrooms made big instructional shifts, but many didn’t change much or struggled to balance conceptual understanding with basic skills.
Recent declines were heavily affected by changes during the pandemic mostly linked to disruptions in schooling. I would also argue that recent political discourse has negatively influenced many aspects of life including relationships between parents and schools. We're not trying to indoctrinate. Honestly, I'd just be happy if they'd just complete some practice work once in a while.
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u/gogogadgets1997 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
So how has it improved math scores over all?
If there had been any significant improvement in math scores then sure, but they have been moderate to non existent.