Mathematics education research examines coaching efficacy and student achievement

Recent evaluations and educational insights highlight ongoing challenges in student mathematics achievement. A final report by SRI on the iCoachTEAM program, funded by Digital Promise, examined the efficacy of training coaches to help middle school math teachers use technology to improve conceptual understanding and formative assessment.

Despite medium to high implementation fidelity, the quasi-experimental study found no significant effects of the iCoachTEAM intervention on student or teacher outcomes in grades 6–8. Researchers noted that the study's intent-to-treat design and small observation sample may have limited the ability to detect significant differences between treatment and comparison schools.

Separately, educators Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr suggest that fluctuations in a child's math performance may stem from inconsistent teaching quality across different classrooms rather than a loss of student capability. They emphasize that math proficiency consists of five strands: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and a productive disposition. To mitigate uneven school years, experts recommend steady, calm math engagement at home to provide a consistent support system for students.