The California State Board of Education has approved the 2023 Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools, instructional guidance for educators that affirms California’s commitment to ensuring equity and excellence in math learning for all students.

“I’m thankful for everyone who worked tirelessly to develop this framework to ensure California’s students have equitable access to rigorous and high-quality math instruction that will prepare them for the future. The framework has struck a great balance in new ways to engage students in developing a love for math while supporting those on an accelerated path,” said Mary Nicely, chief deputy superintendent of public instruction, in a news release. “Our state superintendent is a champion of equity and excellence, and it is our core mission that every child — regardless of race, ZIP code or background — has access to a quality education. The approval of the revised Math Framework is one more step forward to meeting the needs of all California’s students.”

The July 12 vote concludes four years of work to update math instructional guidance aligned with the California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, which are rigorous learning standards that detail what every student should know and be able to do at every grade level.

“This framework provides strategies to challenge, engage, and support all students in deep and relevant math learning by building on successful approaches used in nations that produce high and equitable achievement in math,” said State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond, in a news release.

The guidance contains strategies including structuring the state’s math standards around “big ideas” that integrate rather than isolate math concepts, connecting learning to the “real world” through authentic examples and use of data, and allowing students to “see themselves” in curriculum and in math-related careers.

More information is available on the California Department of Education’s Mathematics Frameworks web page, which includes frequently asked questions, an overview and a timeline of events in the framework’s development.

Nearly 500 special education teachers throughout Los Angeles County and beyond have completed professional development that allows them to apply for bridge authorizations for the new special education teacher credential structure.

The Greater Los Angeles Area SELPAs, made up of 22 participating SELPAs throughout Los Angeles County, in partnership with Southern California Special Education Administrators (SoCalSEA), offered the professional development sessions that met the requirements for candidates to apply for the bridge authorizations for the new special education teacher credential structure.

Effective July 1, 2022, the Education Specialist Instruction Credential authorization structure has been updated to provide more flexibility in meeting the needs of students with disabilities while complying with federal guidelines relating to disability categories. The seven Education Specialist Instruction Credential areas that previously existed have been reorganized into five areas.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing created bridge authorizations as a way for existing Education Specialist credential holders to obtain the new authorization without having to complete an entire preparation program.

SoCalSEA offered four sessions on Mild/Moderate Support Needs (MMSN) and two sessions each on Extensive Support Needs (ESN) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). Sessions were led by Tamara Schiern, executive director of the West San Gabriel Valley SELPA; Stacy Berrest, director of Special Education and SELPA for Rowland USD; and Nicole Hernandez, assistant director of Special Education for Rowland USD.

Between May and July 2023, nearly 500 special education teachers participated and received signed authorization forms to submit for their bridge authorizations. The sessions were sponsored by the nonprofit SoCalSEA and provided free of charge to attendees, to support and ensure students with special needs will continue to be supported with the highest quality specialized instruction.

For more information, visit www.socalsea.org or e-mail socalseapd@gmail.com.

Teachers say that more access to expertise in professional learning would be beneficial to their teaching, according to a new report analyzing how teachers spend their professional learning time.

The report from the RAND Corporation uses data from the American Instructional Resources Survey in spring 2022, which asked kindergarten through 12th grade math, English language arts and science teachers to describe their professional learning activities, with an emphasis on how much PL time was spent on various topics and activities.

The authors examined how teacher participation in PL translates to instructional efficacy, as measured by teacher reports of standards-aligned classroom practices and estimates of student achievement relative to grade level.

Among the findings, the researchers found that collaborative learning was the most common form of PL for teachers and the one teachers were most likely to indicate was benefiting their teaching. Teachers also report that they spend most of their PL time reviewing student assessment data and discussing how to use and adapt instructional materials. Few teachers reported having extensive access to expertise through their PL, particularly in the areas of supporting English learners and students with IEPs. Access to expertise was a substantial predictor of whether teachers considered the PL they participated in to be beneficial to their teaching and student learning.

Read the full report at www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA134-18.html.