Tennessee Celebrates Mathematics & Statistics Awareness Month During April
Highlights Key Gains for Students, Introduces Marty the Mathematician
Nashville, TN – Throughout April, the Tennessee Department of Education invites Tennesseans to celebrate Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, proclaimed by Governor Bill Lee. All month long, the department will highlight meaningful math gains due to Tennessee’s ongoing commitment to K-12 mathematics education and launch key initiatives: the Math Implementation Network and the state’s new mascot, Marty the Mathematician.
This week and month, the department and Marty the Mathematician will celebrate the work happening to boost math scores across the state. Tennesseans are encouraged to join the conversation on social media throughout the month using the hashtag #MathWithMarty. Additionally, teachers can join the celebration by sharing their love of math education and utilizing valuable math resources and statistics resources for teaching math and building students’ confidence.
"Tennessee students are leading the nation in mathematics proficiency thanks to our state’s investments in combating learning loss and teachers’ dedication to supporting students,” said Gov. Lee. “Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, and in the month of April, we’re celebrating our continued commitment to mathematics and ensuring that every child can reach their full potential.”
Over the past five years, Tennessee has been committed to improving math scores, especially in response to combat learning loss, using innovative and research-based approaches to mathematics instruction.
“Thanks to Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly for passing necessary legislation to enhance mathematics instruction along with the hard work of districts and educators, Tennessee is seeing increased and historic scores in math,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “I encourage all Tennesseans to get involved this month and engage with Marty the Mathematician to continue building on this success to further improve student outcomes.”
This year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administration, commonly called the Nation's Report Card, shows the percent of 4th and 8th grade Tennessee students meeting grade level expectations has increased and is performing above the national average in mathematics. Additionally, on the 2023-24 TCAP in grades 3-8, 40% of students are meeting grade level expectations in math, with a nearly three percentage point gain for 5th and 7th graders.
Over the next three years, the Math Implementation Network (MIN) will provide supports to districts and equips educators with skills to build on ideas and leverage resources that deepen understanding of rigorous mathematics instruction paired with high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) to meet the needs of all learners during Tier I instruction, and more. Eight school districts, one from each CORE region, were selected to build upon promising math practices already taking place and will receive further support three times a year from the department: Bradley County Schools, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, Fentress County Schools, Hancock County Schools, Lawrence County Schools, Millington Municipal Schools, Sevier County Schools, and Trenton Special School District.
Learn more about Tennessee’s math initiatives here and learning acceleration here.
For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact [email protected].
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