Edsource: With Literacy Policies On The Books, Advocates Target Early Math

This week, they proposed that all school districts be required to screen children for math difficulties annually in the early grades, as the first step toward adopting a comprehensive statewide approach to math achievement.

"California is facing a real and urgent math achievement crisis, and we cannot afford to wait until students are already far behind to act," said Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-San Diego, the primary author of Senate Bill 1067, the math screener bill. "We know the achievement gap in math is evident as early as kindergarten. We also know that students who miss foundational math skills in grades K through 2 rarely catch up."

SB 1067 would require districts to adopt one or more state-approved screening instruments by July 2027 and use them to determine students' math challenges starting in 2028-29. English learners would be screened in their primary language "wherever feasible," to discourage over-identification of math challenges.

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