Supports for Students with Disabilities in the Math in Common Districts

The five-year Math in Common (MiC) initiative supports a formal network of 10 California school districts as they implement the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS‑M) across grades K–8.

As California school districts work to implement CCSS-M, thousands of students with disabilities are falling behind. On the 2016 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), 37 percent of all California students tested met or exceeded standards in mathematics, while only 11 percent of students with disabilities did. Under the state’s new accountability system, 163 school districts were flagged as requiring Level 2 support, or “differentiated assistance,” due at least in part for failing to meet state targets for their students with disabilities subgroup on state priorities.

Against this backdrop, two MiC districts have shown an improvement in math achievement for their students with disabilities. WestEd conducted interviews with math administrators and special education specialists in both districts to learn more about how these districts are making strides.

This report describes their findings and presents six recommendations for other districts who seek to build supports for students with disabilities more deeply into all their work for math instructional improvement.

Download Other MiC Reports

• Under Construction: Benchmark Assessments and Common Core Math Implementation in Grades K–8
• Classroom Observations: Documenting Shifts in Instruction for Districtwide Improvement
• Taking Stock of Common Core Math Implementation: Supporting Teachers to Shift Instruction – Insights from the Math in Common 2015 Baseline Survey of Teachers and Administrators
• Many Pathways to Student Success in Mathematics: Middle and High School Math Course Sequences and Placement Decisions in the Math in Common Districts
• Bringing the Common Core State Standards to Life Through Site-Located Teacher Learning Structures
• Principals as Instructional Leaders: Harnessing Teacher and Administrator Perceptions from the 2016 Math in Common Annual Surveys
• Three Structures in the Garden Grove Unified School District That Support Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
• Instructional Materials: Who Makes the Choice? Findings from the Annual Survey on Implementing the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
• Professional Learning Community Facilitators’ Guide to Discussion of “English Language Learners and the New Standards: Developing Language, Content Knowledge, and Analytical Practices in the Classroom”