How well does Minnesota prepare elementary teachers for math instruction?

Minnesota could do a better job equipping elementary teacher candidates in math instruction, according to a new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ).

The report analyzes how well each state meets five policy levers, which NCTQ has identified as the key ways to elevate teacher effectiveness, strengthen math instruction, and drive better student outcomes:

1. Set specific, detailed math standards for teacher preparation programs.
2. Review teacher preparation programs to ensure they are providing robust math instruction.
3. Adopt a strong elementary math licensure test and require all elementary candidates to pass it.
4. Require districts to select high-quality math curricula and support skillful implementation.
5. Provide professional learning and ongoing support for teachers to sustain effective math instruction.

Under the first policy lever, NCTQ found that only 21 states “provide clear, detailed guidance to teacher preparation programs about what they should teach in all four core math content topic areas”: numbers and operations, algebraic thinking, geometry and measurement, and data analysis and probability. (Minnesota addresses some topics.) The report also identifies whether a state requires teacher preparation programs to explicitly address math-specific pedagogy in their standards. (Minnesota does not.)

Does the state provide guidance to elementary teacher preparation programs about what they should teach in the four core math content topic areas?

Does the state require elementary teacher preparation programs to address math pedagogy?

Under policy lever 3, only 13 states use an at least acceptable licensure test. (Minnesota and its Minnesota Teacher Licensing Exams, MTLE, was not listed as one of them.)

However, during the 2023 legislative session Minnesota legislators eliminated pedagogy and content exams for licensure. So the MTLE content, pedagogy, and basic skills exams are no longer required for earning a Minnesota professional teaching license if the teacher candidate completed an approved teacher preparation program. The NCTQ testified against this change, noting that meaningful teacher licensure tests are of importance — even for those who graduate from a college-level teacher preparation program — because they act as a “final check” on the knowledge teacher candidates need to enter the classroom that may have been missed in their teacher preparation program coursework.

While Minnesota does provide funding for professional learning for in-service teachers in math and allocates funding for math curriculum materials, it doesn’t require districts to publish what curricula they are using — which is helpful for transparency purposes and for assessing quality and rigor of materials. Minnesota Statute 120B.20 does require school districts to have a procedure in place for parents to review the instructional materials provided to their child and, if the parent objects to the content, to make reasonable arrangements with school personnel for alternative instruction.

Overall, the NCTQ rated Minnesota’s performance across all five policy levers as “weak.”

State performance across all five math policy levers

The disconnect NCTQ’s report finds between what aspiring elementary teachers learn in many teacher preparation programs and what they need to know to elevate their instruction effectiveness has raised questions about the role this is playing on students’ math proficiency across the country.

Based on most recently available statewide data, less than half of Minnesota students are meeting grade-level benchmarks in math for the second year in a row. (The new 2022 K-12 math standards and benchmarks from the Minnesota Department of Education are scheduled for full implementation in the 2027-28 school year.) On national assessments, Minnesota fourth-grade math scores are still below pre-COVID levels and when demographically adjusted rank 26th. From 2019 to 2024, Minnesota’s average fourth-grade math score experienced the second steepest decline as measured against 49 states, the national average, Washington, D.C., and the Department of Defense Education Activity.

Note in the graph below that Alabama was the only state to significantly increase its fourth-grade math score since pre-COVID. In NCTQ’s report, Alabama was the only state to earn a “strong” rating across the five policy levers.

In 2022, the state passed a comprehensive Numeracy Act that, for example, prohibits the use of Common Core state standards and mandates that every public K-5 school receives at least one math coach. The Act “explicitly tasks coaches with improving Tier 1 instruction, collaborating with school administrators to build and implement a strategic plan to improve student achievement, facilitating schoolwide professional learning, supporting implementation of HQIM in math, and more,” explains the NCTQ report.

NAEP Fourth-Grade Math
Score point difference from 2019 to 2024 by state

Elementary teachers are responsible for building the foundation of math vocabulary, background knowledge and concepts students need to succeed in middle and high school. It’s important teachers are properly prepared to deliver strong math instruction and are confident in their readiness to do so.