Black Students Provide Insights Into the Best Ways To Engage Them in High School Math

September 3, 2024

A new study finds that high school teachers’ ability to effectively teach math to Black students, students’ negative perceptions of their math ability, and their lack of awareness about the intersection between math and their desired careers are key factors in marginalized students’ struggles with high school mathematics.  

The study, published in the American Educational Research Journal, explores the experiences and self-perceptions of primarily Black high school students from low-income communities in the Southern United States with mathematics.  

“He’s Probably the Only Teacher I’ve Actually Learned From”: Marginalized Students’ Experiences With and Self-Perceptions of High School Mathematics draws on data from 67 focus groups involving 251 students. The findings underscore the importance of inclusive and equitable teaching methods to support academic success and positive math identities among marginalized students, particularly Black girls. 

Key findings include the following: 

• Black students tend not to believe that their teachers are adequately prepared to teach them math in appropriate ways. Regardless of their teachers’ educational attainment and teaching experience, students in focus groups expressed concerns about their teachers’ knowledge of “how to teach” mathematics. Students in general math courses were twice as likely to have had a negative experience with instruction compared to a positive experience. Further, Black girls in general math classes were more likely (71 percent) to share negative experiences with a teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge than Black boys (43 percent). Most teachers in the study had a mathematics licensure (95 percent), majored or minored in mathematics (71 percent) and had at least five years of teaching experience (67 percent). This finding highlights a gap between teachers’ math content knowledge and inclusive pedagogical content knowledge, suggesting a need for sustained and ongoing professional development.  

• Black girls are more likely than Black boys to perceive themselves as not being “good at math.” Black girls who were in general math classes were much more likely (71 percent) than Black boys (14 percent) to have a negative math identity. Black girls were also more likely to cite poor understanding as a sign that they were not “good at math” and often linked their understanding and enjoyment when discussing being “good at math.” In addition, several Black boys in the focus groups (29 percent) identified their teachers’ recognition or acknowledgment as an indicator of them being good at math while none of the Black girls discussed being recognized or acknowledged by their teachers. These findings emphasize the need for more inclusive and equitable math teaching methods to help marginalized students, particularly Black girls, develop a positive math identity. 

• Black students don’t perceive the usefulness of advanced math in pursuing their desired careers. More students identified “basic math,” such as number and operations skills, as useful (99 percent) than advanced math such as algebra and statistics (58 percent), demonstrating a misunderstanding of the types of math needed for careers in lucrative STEM fields. Black girls in general math classes were more likely (86 percent) than Black boys (67 percent) to not see the connection between their desired careers and mastery of advanced math. This disconnect may be a key barrier for marginalized students who want to enter STEM career fields. This finding suggests a need to explain the importance of math to students’ desired careers, as well as to increase students’ knowledge of STEM careers. 

The research team, led by Ashli-Ann Douglas, a research associate at WestEd, included researchers from Vanderbilt University, the University of Puerto Rico, and Fisk University. 

“This research highlights the critical need for educators to understand and address the unique experiences of marginalized students in math classrooms,” said Douglas. “By specifically centering the needs and strengths of Black girls, and ensuring they feel valued and supported, we can create more inclusive and equitable learning environments that prepare and encourage marginalized students to enter STEM career fields.” 

The findings come as pandemic-induced learning disruptions continue to negatively affect student outcomes, driving down student math scores and exacerbating long-standing inequities in math achievement, especially for often marginalized groups such as Black students and students from low-income communities.  

The authors recommend widespread adoption of teaching approaches and strategies that embrace the whole student—including valuing and being responsive to all students’ voices and abilities—to better support marginalized high school students in mathematics. The report includes practical recommendations for schools and teachers to consider in moving toward those goals.