Engage with our community-funded journalism <\/a>as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.<\/p>\n The law aims to address sobering data. California ranks 43rd<\/a> in the country in fourth-grade math achievement. Only about 38% of public school students<\/a> test at or above grade level when testing begins in third grade. And early scores are the start of a steady decline in standardized math assessments through high school. <\/p>\n The bill passed the California Senate unanimously in May and is slated to be heard by the Assembly on Wednesday. <\/p>\n Recent amendments<\/a> to be considered include assessing a kindergartner\u2019s math knowledge rather than screening for math deficiencies, something that would help identify students who need additional support. Parents would be notified of the results and schools would be required to report the results to the California Department of Education. <\/p>\n Classroom assistant teacher Daniella Zelaya helps a student with their math at Laurel Street Elementary in Compton.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The proposed law shares similar goals with California\u2019s early literacy screening program<\/a> \u2014 signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 and rolled out this school year \u2014 which assesses kindergartners, first- and second-graders for reading difficulties. <\/p>\n The math bill calls for the State Board of Education to establish criteria for selecting assessments and then the education department would develop a recommended list of tests that meet those standards for schools. Assessments would be required by the 2028-29 school year.<\/p>\n What does math readiness look like for a 5-year-old?<\/p>\n Researchers say the assessments focus on what\u2019s known as early number sense: a child\u2019s ability to count sets of objects, and grasp basic addition and subtraction. In kindergarten, that means manipulating objects rather than written numerals. <\/p>\n Beginning in kindergarten, children\u2019s knowledge of numbers becomes more formal and symbol-based, according to Alice Klein, a developmental psychologist who studies early math screening and intervention. This means a child should be able to count a set of 10 or 15 tokens or blocks, recognize numerals up to 10 and match a set of objects with the correct numeral.<\/p>\n In the Compton Unified School District, for example, educators show kindergartners a photo of 10 cows and ask students to count them. It looks simple, but if a child miscounts, counts one cow twice or skips one, it reveals they need to work on their number sense. <\/p>\n \u201cEarly number sense is the single best predictor of academic success in elementary school,\u201d Klein said. By first and second grade, problems become more symbolic, are presented verbally and use numerals.<\/p>\n How would the math assessment be funded?<\/p>\n The bill proposes for around $106 million over four years after approval to cover the work of the expert panel, district preparation and teacher training before the 2028-29 test mandate would take effect. <\/p>\n Some point out that there is no dedicated funding for what is most needed: Intervention plans for a child if the assessment reveals students aren\u2019t on track. <\/p>\n Los Angeles Unified school board member Nick Melvoin said he supports the spirit of early math identification, but has reservations about whether a statewide assessment mandate is the right mechanism.<\/p>\n A student at Laurel Street Elementary works on a math activity.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a kindergartner, especially depending on where you went to preschool, or because kindergarten is not mandatory in California, you can come to first grade and never have had any formal math,\u201d Melvoin said.<\/p>\n L.A. Unified schools and teachers, at their discretion, already use math assessment tools. <\/p>\n California Teacher Assn. President David Goldberg agrees that simply mandating a new test is not enough and a clear pathway to address challenges identified by the assessment is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cIn California, funding for math instruction, assessment and educator professional development is far below what is spent on literacy,\u201d Goldberg said. \u201cSB 1067 does not address that disparity or provide more support for students and educators to overcome ongoing learning challenges in math.\u201d<\/p>\n One education expert said the bill targets early math intervention incorrectly, putting the burden on districts without giving teachers the tools to act on what the assessment finds.<\/p>\n \u201cIt basically just says: Test kids, figure out which ones are having difficulty \u2014 and in many school districts that\u2019s going to be over 50% \u2014 and then fix it,\u201d said Deborah Stipek, a professor emeritus at Stanford University specializing in early childhood and elementary education. \u201cAmong teachers it\u2019s going to get you a lot of anger and anxiety, because their kids keep testing poorly and they don\u2019t know what to do differently.\u201d <\/p>\n Stipek says a assessment won\u2019t capture what learning math looks like in its entirety \u2014 and some teachers tend to agree.<\/p>\n \u201cMath, so much of it, especially in the primary grades is hands-on,\u201d said Nicole Estrada, a first-grade teacher at Lucille J. Smith Elementary in Lawndale. \u201cIt\u2019s them touching things, counting them, drawing things. I think a screener would be really difficult for kids like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Administering the one-on-one assessment is also time-consuming, pulling teachers away from instructional time. <\/p>\n But Pierson said there is a real sense of urgency, warning that delaying intervention has lasting costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we wait and see, we are losing more students,\u201d Pierson said. \u201cWe\u2019ll look up and 10 years have gone by, we\u2019ve lost a whole other generation of students.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for the bill<\/p>\n Pierson said she expects the bill to reach the governor\u2019s desk before the legislative session ends in late August. But some districts aren\u2019t waiting for a law to act. <\/p>\n Compton Unified has been screening students for math difficulties three times a year for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to Jennifer Moon, Compton Unified\u2019s executive director of educational services for K-8. If a student scores below 80%, they are placed in an intervention group.<\/p>\n Noah Garcia raises his hand during math class at Laurel Street Elementary.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Kindergarten through 2nd graders at Laurel Elementary in Compton participate in a summer bridge program to continue learning foundational math skills if they need a boost for concepts introduced during the school year.<\/p>\n On the whiteboard are the words: subtract, difference, count back, regroup. <\/p>\n \u201cTo bring numbers together, you need a what sign?\u201d asks teacher Elsa Meza.<\/p>\n \u201cA plus sign!\u201d the kids call back.<\/p>\n In groups of four, the children worked through addition problems, counted by tens and checked each other\u2019s answers.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t test, how do you know if your students are mastering the concepts?\u201d Moon asked.<\/p>\n The district tracks individual student data every six to eight weeks to determine whether a child should continue receiving support or exit the intervention group.<\/p>\n \u201cI firmly believe that this bill will definitely help and support other districts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n This article is part of The Times\u2019 early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com\/earlyed.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Confronted with math test scores showing that 68% of California public school third-graders do not meet grade-level standards,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[15028,3653,7,9,8,3409,154061,154059,21292,50261,154058,721,30096,154060,37405,4574,10384],"class_list":["post-381066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-assessment","tag-bill","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-child","tag-compton-unified-school-district","tag-district-preparation","tag-intervention","tag-kindergarten","tag-kindergartner","tag-law","tag-math","tag-numeral","tag-school-year","tag-student","tag-teacher"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/58\/63\/50ef761d4adfa8b451b6a006b800\/lat-early-childhood-initiative-logo-1.svg\"){kind=logo}
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