Position Papers

NCSM Position Papers are designed to provide NCSM members with support regarding critical actions that lead to improved student achievement in mathematics. The papers are a product of the collaborative efforts of many individuals who offered their writing, editing and critiquing skills. These papers provide our members with answers to two questions:

  • What does NCSM believe about important issues in mathematics education leadership?
  • How is NCSM helping mathematics education leaders provide research-informed answers to the issues we face in our local district?

NCSM Position Papers: Improving Student Achievement Series

Supporting All Students Through Flexible Grouping Practices

(Fall 2023)

NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education believes that mathematically inclusive classrooms create equitable and flexible grouping structures to appropriately develop students’ mathematical talents. Given the diversity of learners and their needs, students benefit from differentiated support from their teachers as well as from working within flexible peer groups aligned to these needs. For many students, strengths-based flexible grouping practices can be accomplished within the typical classroom setting, and in some situations, students ready for more advanced mathematics should have opportunities to be with mathematically appropriate peer groups. By using responsive, flexible grouping practices, students will have opportunities to develop and advance their individual mathematical talents and contribute to different mathematical learning communities within the classroom. NCSM calls for creating equitable and flexible grouping practices to support all students across grade levels.

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Closing the Opportunity Gap: A Call for Detracking Mathematics

(Spring 2020)

NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education, believes that all students should have access to high quality instruction and post-secondary educational opportunities. While we acknowledge that many
factors hinder such student access, in this position statement we call for the cessation of one clear,
addressable factor: the practice of tracking. As a practice, tracking too often leads to segregation, dead end pathways, and low quality experiences, and disproportionately has a negative impact on minority and low-socioeconomic students. In light of this, NCSM calls instead for detracked, heterogeneous mathematics instruction through early high school, after which students may be well-served by separate curricular pathways that all lead to viable, post-secondary options.

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Improving Student Achievement by Infusing Highly Effective Instructional Strategies into Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS)-Response to Intervention (RtI) Tier 2 Instruction

(Spring 2015)

It is the position of NCSM that a Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS)-Response to Intervention (RtI) is a vital process for improving instruction and providing academic and social-behavioral support to all students. It should be implemented to ensure success for every student in every classroom. The MTSS is a systematic method of identifying, defining, and resolving students’ academic and social-behavior difficulties using collaborative, school-wide, problem solving approaches. The MTSS occurs within a strong comprehensive system of school improvement where learning environment, mathematics curriculum, and delivery of instruction are analyzed for the purpose of student response to differentiation.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics Through Formative Assessment in Instruction

A Joint Position Paper with AMTE, (Spring 2014)

We affirm the centrality of research-based, mathematically focused, formative assessment – a key element in the national effort to improve mathematical proficiency. Formative assessment needs to be intentionally and systematically integrated into classroom instruction at every grade level. This requires adequate attention in the preparation of new teachers of mathematics and in the continuing education and professional development of current teachers. A growing body of research emphasizes the use of formative assessment in classroom instruction as a means to improve student achievement. As leaders, we must work to ensure that teachers, administrators and other stakeholders in districts and states have knowledge of the research-based practices in formative assessment.

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Improving Student Achievement by Implementing Highly Effective Teacher Evaluation Practices

(Spring 2014)

Teacher evaluation should be a multifaceted-collaborative process between teacher and administrator informed by a variety of data sources. The suggestions from this position paper are intended to offer specific mathematics requirements for inclusion into an already existing evaluation system. Our position views evaluation as a formative, teacher-centered process where teachers are continually receiving feedback and given opportunities for targeted and specific professional learning opportunities.

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Improving Student Achievement by Infusing Highly Effective Instructional Strategies into RtI Tier I Instruction

(Spring 2013)

Intervention is an essential component to any K-12 mathematics program. Tier 1 of the RtI framework places emphasis on a high-quality general curriculum in which specific interventions are implemented. The focus of Tier 1 is to ensure instruction of the core curriculum using evidence-based practices taught with fidelity so that all students are mastering the curriculum. As leaders we need to connect with colleagues and place emphasis and focus on interventions and instructional decision making to support the learning of ALL students.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Using Manipulatives with Classroom Instruction

(Spring 2013)

In order to develop every student’s mathematical proficiency, leaders and teachers must systematically integrate the use of concrete and virtual manipulatives into classroom instruction at all grade levels. As leaders we must act to create and sustain the conditions and structures that will enable every mathematics teacher to use manipulatives successfully and to move away from incidental to systematic approaches to manipulative-based instruction.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Expanding Learning Opportunities for the Young

(Spring 2012)

This paper highlights the need to provide young children with extensive, high-quality mathematics instruction. There is extensive research that supports the idea that a coordinated national early childhood mathematics initiative should be put in place to improve mathematics teaching and learning for all children ages 3 to 6. As leaders we need to work to ensure that all children obtain the mathematical foundation they need for success.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Expanding Opportunities for Our Most Promising Students of Mathematics

(Spring 2012)

This paper highlights the idea that significant improvement in mathematics achievement over a sustained period requires addressing equity and expanding opportunities for the most mathematically promising students. A strong diverse society has the right to demand that we all look for mathematical promise in our students and seek to overcome the lenses of bias or low expectation that can cloud our vision. All of our students deserve a learning environment that lifts the ceiling, fuels their creativity and passion, and pushes them to make continuous progress throughout their academic careers.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Systematically Integrating Effective Technology

(Spring 2011)

Today’s world makes a burgeoning array of technologies available to classrooms, ranging from graphing calculators to computers and electronic whiteboards. This paper provides the latest information from research and experience to guide teachers and leaders in the strategic use of technology in the classroom.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Promoting Positive Self-Beliefs

(Spring 2010)

This paper highlights the critical importance of developing and nurturing positive self-beliefs. Educators who establish a classroom climate that promotes positive self-beliefs about intelligence and academic ability increase students’ motivation and engagement. The process of promoting positive self-beliefs begins with teachers believing that all students can learn meaningful mathematics.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners

(Fall 2009)

This paper offers clear insights and action steps necessary to support the needs of ELL students. This paper is the sixth in a series that provides information, research and action steps to support our membership and education leaders in mathematics as they work to improve student achievement.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Leading Highly Effective Assessment Practices

(Spring 2009)

This paper emphasizes the need to balance assessment-for-learning with assessment-of-learning. Adult collaboration that clarifies what students should learn, how their learning will be assessed and what the evidence of learning reveals, occurs frequently and regularly in order to promote equity and reduce bias.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics for Students with Special Needs

(Winter 2008)

This paper provides direction for meeting the needs of students with special needs through strategic customization of instruction and assessment and through collaboration among those with content expertise and special education expertise.

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Improving Student Achievement by Leading the Pursuit of a Vision for Equity

(Spring 2008)

This paper provides direction for systematically addressing equity in student achievement by reframing the inequity perspective of “achievement gap” to an “opportunity gap” (Flores, 2007) and by promoting the effective use of professional learning communities to impact adult and student development in mathematics.

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Improving Student Achievement by Leading Sustained Professional Learning* for Mathematics Content and Pedagogical Knowledge Development

(September 2007)

This paper provides direction for creating ongoing context-based adult learning (or professional development) for the express purpose of impacting student learning.

* In the words of Michael Fullan (2007): “Professional development as a term and as a strategy has run its course. The future of improvement, indeed of the profession itself, depends on a radical shift in how we conceive [teacher] learning”.

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Improving Student Achievement by Leading Effective Collaborative Teams of Mathematics Teachers

(September 2007)

This paper provides direction for the elimination of inequities often caused by the privatization of teacher practice. The paper establishes the necessity for the use of high-performing grade level and course-level teacher teams.

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NCSM has collaborated with AMTE, ASSM, COSN, NCTM, and TODOS to make joint public statements to help our members interpret important national documents that impact their work.

NCSM Joint Position Papers and White Papers

The Role of Elementary Mathematics Specialists in the Learning and Teaching of Mathematics

A joint position paper with AMTE, ASSM, and NCTM (2022)

This updated joint position of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM), NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education (NCSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) calls for elementary mathematics specialists to help ensure equitable and effective mathematics learning for each and every student.

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Positioning Multilingual Learners for Success in Mathematics

A joint position paper with TODOS: Mathematics for ALL (2021)

NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL (TODOS) prioritize policies and practices that position multilingual learners (i.e., children learning mathematics in languages that differ from their students’ first languages) so that they can access, engage, and thrive in mathematics education. Accomplishing this will require a systemic approach and investments that influence policies and practices. These include professional development, infrastructure, curriculum, family/community engagement, language development, and mathematics teaching, learning and assessment.

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Building STEM Education on a Sound Mathematical Foundation

A joint position statement on STEM from NCSM and NCTM, (Spring 2018)

NCSM and NCTM recognize the importance of addressing STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in PK-12 education and affirm the essential role of a strong foundation in mathematics as the center of any STEM education program. In addition to integrative experiences connecting the disciplines of STEM, students need a strong mathematics foundation to succeed in STEM fields and to make sense of STEM-related topics in their daily lives. Thus, any STEM education program (including out-of-school activities) should support and enhance a school’s mathematics program, ensuring that instructional time for mathematics is not compromised. In addition, any STEM activity claiming to address mathematics should do so with integrity to the grade level’s mathematics content and mathematical practices.

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Learn more about the joint position paper about STEM education and where the M is the focus in this conversation. View the Webinar about STEM with Robert Berry from NCTM and Connie Schrock from NCSM.


Mathematics Education Through the Lens of Social Justice: Acknowledgment, Actions, and Accountability

A joint position statement from the NCSM and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, (Spring 2016)

NCSM and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL (TODOS) ratify social justice as a key priority in the access to, engagement with, and advancement in mathematics education for our country’s youth. A social justice stance requires a systemic approach that includes fair and equitable teaching practices, high expectations for all students, access to rich, rigorous, and relevant mathematics, and strong family/community relationships to promote positive mathematics learning and achievement. Equally important, a social justice stance interrogates and challenges the roles power, privilege, and oppression play in the current unjust system of mathematics education-and in society as a whole.

NCSM and TODOS understand that moving forward with social justice demands change in institutional structures,teaching and learning environments, community engagement practices, and individual actions.

This is the challenge and work of social justice in mathematics education to do right by our children and move forward together.

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Mathematics Education in the Digital Age

(Spring 2015)

Reform in mathematics education and the rise of digital learning represent two growing movements in our nation’s school leadership, policies, and practice. The digital revolution is transitioning our schools from paper-rich to technology-and-media-rich learning environments. In the midst of these changes, a big issue arises: Technology in schools can either accelerate the momentum in mathematics education or undermine that momentum. Recognizing a need for vision and guidance, NCSM recently convened a Digital Learning Visioning Committee to examine the future of quality mathematics education in the digital age. This paper summarizes the work of the Visioning Committee to date, incorporates input from representatives of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), and initiates the planning process intended to optimize mathematics education in the digital learning era.

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Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics Through Formative Assessment in Instruction

A Joint Position Paper with AMTE, (Spring 2014)

We affirm the centrality of research-based, mathematically focused, formative assessment – a key element in the national effort to improve mathematical proficiency. Formative assessment needs to be intentionally and systematically integrated into classroom instruction at every grade level. This requires adequate attention in the preparation of new teachers of mathematics and in the continuing education and professional development of current teachers. A growing body of research emphasizes the use of formative assessment in classroom instruction as a means to improve student achievement. As leaders, we must work to ensure that teachers, administrators and other stakeholders in districts and states have knowledge of the research-based practices in formative assessment.

Download the entire Position Paper
Listen to this Position Paper


Mathematics Education Organizations Unite to Support Implementation of Common Core State Standards

(Summer 2010)

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The Role of Elementary Mathematics Specialists in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

(2010)

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NCSM Position Papers: Computer Science and K-12 Mathematics

Computer Science and K-12 Mathematics

(Spring 2018)

NCSM believes that both computer science and mathematics are essential domains of study for 21st century students. We acknowledge that there are areas of overlap between the domains, which should be used to further advantage, but also recognize that there are important differences. Both involve computations and the development of thinking processes and practices, but computer science does not target the specific mathematics to the breadth and depth expected in state and provincial mathematics standards. Given this, NCSM believes that computer science and mathematics courses are not equivalent and takes the position that a computer science course that does not intentionally target a full course of mathematics standards should not count as a mathematics course. NCSM also cautions that the use of a computer science course as a substitution for a mathematics requirement must never adversely impact preparation for college or career readiness.

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History

Upon receiving the Glenn Gilbert Award at the 2005 St. Louis Annual Conference, long-time NCSM member and past President (1993-1995), Carey Bolster challenged NCSM as an organization to “mind the gap” and step forward with a clear platform of direction to its membership. The Improving Student Achievement Series: Researched-Informed Answers for Mathematics Education Leaders was inspired by this challenge. The concept received unanimous approval from the NCSM Board as part of the NCSM’s 2007-2008 annual strategic plan. In September 2007, the first two Position Papers were released, coinciding with the launch of a year-long celebration of NCSM’s 40th anniversary of leadership in mathematics education.

Permissions

NCSM grants permission to reprint these papers for distribution.

Inquiries

The NCSM Board hopes that you will find our positions, the research and literature that support them, and the practical steps you can take to implement each position, to be of use to you and your colleagues.

Please let us know your reaction to the NCSM Position Papers. You may write directly to any of these NCSM representatives:

Facilitator’s Guide for NCSM Position Papers

Beginning in 2007, NCSM’s Improving Student Achievement Series links research with classroom practice. These papers focus on important issues in mathematics education. Each paper follows the same format: the position statement, the research supporting the position, and the steps that can be taken to implement the position.

The Purpose of the Facilitators Guide for NCSM Position Papers is to offer suggestions to help mathematics leaders facilitate learning opportunities using the NCSM Position Papers.