Colorado o ers Zearn digital math learning

showed students who used Zearn regularly made substantially more progress than those who didn’t.

BY ERICA MELTZER CHALKBEAT

Colorado is making the digital learning program Zearn Math available for free to schools statewide as part of a broader e ort to address gaps in math learning that widened during the pandemic.

Gov. Jared Polis has set aside up to $6 million in pandemic relief money to pay for licenses for the digital program and to pay for printed materials for schools that adopt Zearn’s math curriculum Training also will be available to teachers in how to use the new platform.

Math scores on state and national standardized tests declined during the pandemic, with sharper drops in math than in reading and writing. Both educators and policymakers are focused on how to help students gain skills they missed out on during three disrupted years.

Last month, Polis and lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan $25 million proposal to o er widespread afterschool tutoring in math, expand teacher training, and encourage districts to adopt high-quality curriculum. In addition, the initiative included plans for the state to pay for licenses for a digital math accel- erator and make them available at no cost to schools statewide.

Polis announced this week that Colorado has selected Zearn Math as the state’s online math program. e state did not request proposals, instead choosing Zearn based on studies and reviews and purchasing it from a software reseller at a set price.

“We are taking an all-hands-ondeck approach to boost student math achievement and make sure

Colorado kids have the support and practice they need to excel in math,” Polis said in a press release. “ is new access saves school districts and families money and is part of our ongoing work to provide highquality education for every Colorado student.”

Polis spokeswoman Melissa Dworkin said the governor’s team considered several programs and chose Zearn Math based on studies provided by the company that

Educators who study math instruction and ways students learn through gaming and online platforms said Zearn has positive elements but cautioned that teachers need training and time to learn how to use it well. It shouldn’t be used as a substitute for in-person instruction by well-trained teachers, they said, and teachers need to make sure students are engaged and supported in their learning.

Started by New York teachers and backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the program is used widely in states like Tennessee and Texas. Many New York City schools also use Zearn Math. e program is intended to be used in conjunction with in-person, whole class instruction. ( e Gates Foundation is a funder of Chalkbeat.)

Mary Pittman, president of the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said she feels “hopeful excitement” about the plan.

“It is new for Colorado to have access to a program like this across the board,” she said.

She described the platform as offering exible, high-quality materials built around Common Core State Standards, which are the basis for Colorado’s academic standards. She said Zearn was originally used most often for intervention with students