"What did you get for number nine?"
"Is 'D' right or not?"
"I messed up. 'A' is right!"
David Evans' Hamilton International Middle School classroom stands out in Seattle's public schools, where screen-free learning is becoming increasingly rare in math classes. After 16 years of using the same math lessons, the district adopted a new digital curriculum for geometry and algebra classes this fall.
As middle school students across Washington struggle with math, Seattle's new approach is an example of districts searching for solutions to a problem that could have long-term consequences.
The latest results from the biannual National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card, show that less than 30 percent of the state's eighth-grade students are proficient in math. In 2013, about 42 percent of Washington's eighth graders were proficient.
Middle school math struggles can signal that trouble is on the horizon. Students who fail Algebra I, which most take in eighth or ninth grade, at least once are far less likely to graduate high school on time.
To help reverse the state's slide, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal wants to invest more resources in training for educators who teach math to fifth- through eighth-grade students.
"All the data compels us to take a much deeper examination of our approach to math," Reykdal said in a statement last month.
In Seattle, hardcover textbooks are obsolete. Unless teachers like Evans print out work sheets, homework and tests, students learn math and take tests on their district-issued laptops.
Even Evans, who still takes pride in grading tests with red pens, admits to not using workbooks as often as he expected. However, he still fears that a wholesale switch to a digital curriculum will harm the quality of teaching.
"The attraction of technology is profound," Evans said. "Technology will cover for you. It's a panacea. It will help a teacher get through a class day after day after day. It will serve up whatever the teacher wants and however they want to package it. It will keep the kids' eyeballs on their screens. It's a little bit like a drug."
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress 2024 survey, 35 percent of eighth graders in Washington have teachers who use a computer or digital device to teach math all or almost all the time in class. Nationwide, the average is 43 percent.
Seattle used funds from a technology levy to purchase the new curriculum, which replaced the 16-year-old curriculum that didn't cover the Common Core State Standards, a national set of grade-level learning goals designed to prepare students for college and careers.
"Students were getting vastly different experiences and not necessarily getting a coherent math experience because (teachers) were drawing from so many different resources," said Elissa Farmer, the district's math program manager.
After the pandemic, Caleb Perkins, Seattle's executive director of college and career readiness, said the district wanted to ensure the new curriculum was digital because all students have a district-issued laptop. They also didn't want to purchase instructional materials like workbooks because, in years past, workbooks have sat untouched on shelves, collecting dust.
Some teachers tout the benefits of the new digital curriculum, which automatically grades students' tests and homework and tailors assignments to individual student needs. They love the videos and interactive simulations that illustrate concepts in ways that paper and pencil can never do.
Other teachers have encountered difficulties with auto-grading, drawing geometry symbols on screens and grading students using multiple-choice tests, which, they say, are too narrow a measure of students' understanding.
"As humans, we learn from one another and I'm trying to create the best environment in which to do that," Evans said. "I just think screens are just too conflicting for kids."
'PROBLEM-BASED INSTRUCTION'
The district's new curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics, bills itself as "problem-based instruction" because many lessons engage students in inquiry and observation before teachers start teaching.
Students learn by grappling with and discussing real-world scenarios that involve math.
In Washington, the Bellevue, Evergreen, Everett, Lake Washington and Puyallup school districts also use the curriculum. New York City Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District and Philadelphia Public Schools also recently added it.
The curriculum aims to help students develop a deep conceptual understanding of math concepts rather than focusing on facts and memorization.
"Math (with IM) is less about memorizing these very small, fragile ideas which contributes to a lot of students feeling like 'Oh my goodness, there's so much to learn here. I can't possibly (do it all),'" said Dan Meyer, a former math teacher and math education researcher who now works at Amplify, a curriculum company. "(IM) cares a lot about what students bring to class. What do they notice about math? What do they wonder about math? How are they seeing things?"
Laura Chang, an algebra teacher at Seattle's McClure Middle School, has embraced the new curriculum.
"So many think, pair, share, opportunities ... which really uplifts kids because there isn't really a wrong answer, which is a big thing in math," said George Robertson, a student teacher in Chang's classroom and a University of Washington's College of Education graduate student.
With the new curriculum, teachers can change the names of the people in the problems to the names of students in the class or alter the context to something local.
Chang often hears students ask, "When are we ever going to use this?" but she hasn't heard much of that this year.
For Evans, the novelty of the curriculum has its eureka moments, but they come at a cost.
"Sometimes I'm blown away and I think 'Wow this is really cool. I didn't really think about this before,'" Evans said. "In other ways, ... it's so multilayered and so complex that if you make one little mistake, you are in the middle of the lake and you have to swim to shore. And it takes a special kid to be able to do that."
MIXED-MEDIUM TEACHING
As Chang walks around her classroom, every other student has a laptop open. Just a few students have notebooks out and pencils in hand. Their eyes dart between the projected screen at the front of the classroom and their partner's laptop.
The students complete an assignment requiring them to chart an object's movement. A timer buzzes, prompting them to use their laptops to submit their answers. Within seconds, the poll results are displayed on a whiteboard in front of the room.
"I like it," said Misha Klopov, a student in Chang's class, about the new curriculum. "It's more accessible and you get teacher feedback right away."
The digital curriculum can generate a spreadsheet of all students' answers and progress, allowing teachers to adjust the lessons and pacing of the class.
It doesn't always work smoothly for Robertson, the student teacher in Chang's classroom. Although he enjoys the digital curriculum, he says the only downside is not always seeing the students' work on the digital platform.
Mary Ellen Russell, a parent of an eighth grader at Eckstein Middle School, says her daughter Sophia Russell sometimes gets frustrated when the program won't accept her answer because it isn't typed in the format, even though it is correct.
"I do have concerns about (not) having the ability to flip back and find something you missed," Mary said about Sophia not having a textbook or workbook.
Illustrative Mathematics co-founder and CEO Bill McCallum acknowledges that not every district and school has the infrastructure to support all-digital learning, so it also offers print materials.
Experts and the district stress the importance of combining the digital curriculum with in-person, on-paper activities in the classroom.
"It's not as if the entire (class period) is going to be spent sitting at a computer, even with the digital curriculum," McCallum said.
Min Sun, a professor at the University of Washington's College of Education who specializes in teacher learning and the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning in education, said students learn best when they can move blocks around or roll dice.
Min acknowledged that the digital platforms can be engaging, but she said classroom discourse, cooperation and building on each other's ideas — which happen more naturally when screens aren't involved — are essential components of math education too.
"Even for math ... learning is a social activity," Min said.
© 2025 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
