On Board Online • August 11, 2025
By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent
The New York State Education Department (SED) has released eight instructional guidance documents on best practices for effective mathematics instruction.
The "numeracy briefs" are part of SED's Numeracy Initiative, which launched during the 2024-25 school year and will continue through the 2025-26 school year. The goal is to ensure every New York student has access to high-quality math instruction with a strong foundation in numeracy (mathematical literacy). To achieve this, SED is seeking to ensure that all teachers have access to information about evidence-based methods of instruction.
The Numeracy Initiative revolves around the idea that all students should have the ability to understand basic concepts in mathematics, reason using them and apply them in real world situations, like measuring ingredients in the kitchen or "keeping score during game night," according to Betty Rosa, commissioner of education.
On its website, SED describes numeracy as "an essential skill for 21st Century learners" that's "highly valued in the workplace" and "essential for making personal financial decisions, understanding and critically evaluating the use of statistics and data presented in research and media, and for evaluating and refining ideas, plans and solutions to problems."
Written for educators, the briefs provide information on evidence-based mathematical teaching practices for pre-K through 12th grade. They support the Next Generation Mathematics Learning Standards, which were adopted by the state Board of Regents in 2017.
Rachel Connors, a spokeswoman for SED, said the briefs are "intended to be a valuable resource for educators, but they are not required to be implemented."
Training sessions have been held throughout the state. For instance, Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES hosted over 80 math instructional leaders for a May webinar and in-person discussion on the new numeracy briefs.
"We've aligned all of our professional development offerings to those briefs," said Marijo Pearson, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and professional development at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES. Beginning the next year, the BOCES will also offer a year-long training on teaching and assessing student knowledge of whole numbers for K-5 teachers.
Sara Missell, lead instructional support specialist for math at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, said she especially likes brief #8, which focuses on the need for school leaders to support teachers and evidence-based mathematics instruction.
"Leaders don't always have a math background, so being able to support math education can be tricky for them," she said. "The briefs really give everyone permission to say, 'I need some more support.' The way most of us were raised, we haven't seen what strong math instruction, equitable math instruction, should look like."
"Our math instruction historically is about getting an answer, where this is about doing mathematical thinking and applying that," Missell continued. "All the teachers I talk to - they're hungry for this kind of thing. They want to do what's best for students. They just don't necessarily know what it is. Everyone we talk to is excited to get this professional development."
The goal, Missell said, is to make math fun, engaging and creative, and to move away from instruction rooted in rote learning. The briefs also emphasize the importance of a culturally responsive education.
The numeracy briefs were developed by Deborah Loewenberg Ball, a professor of education at the University of Michigan, in partnership with TeachingWorks, a University of Michigan-based project for which Loewenberg Ball serves as director.