Early Math Screening Resources

Math screening is the use of brief, developmentally appropriate, and evidence-based questions to identify students experiencing difficulties mastering foundational math skills. Questions may be administered orally, on paper, or using a computer/tablet. 

Some foundational math skills include:

• Number Concepts – Counting, including concepts like one-to-one correspondence and understanding that the last number counted represents the total
• Magnitude – Comparing numbers, including understanding concepts like “more,” “less,” and “equal,” and picturing a mental number line
• Basic Operations – Addition and subtraction, at first with concrete objects, then using different strategies to compose and decompose numbers

Much as a vision screening identifies a child who may need glasses, a math screening identifies a child who may need additional instructional support and intervention.

No. In fact, the achievement gap in math skills is already evident by the time children enter kindergarten. Students from low-income backgrounds, in particular, have fewer early learning opportunities, and often start school already far behind their middle-income peers in their abilities to count, identify numbers, and compare and manipulate quantities. 

Math learning is cumulative, so students who don’t master foundational math skills in K-2 rarely catch up to their peers and will continue to fall further and further behind. This pattern is reflected by California’s own data: in 2025, 46% of all third graders were proficient in math, compared with just 33% of eleventh graders.

Math proficiency is essential for long-term success in school, career, and life. Students who fall behind in the early grades are significantly less likely to advance into higher-level math courses, graduate from high school, attend college, or find careers in ever-growing STEM fields. 

Research shows that students who are identified early (typically grades K-2) and given targeted, timely evidence-based instruction can make significant and sustained gains in math achievement.

Our state is facing a crisis in math achievement. Despite spending more per pupil than a majority of states and being the epicenter of global innovation with the largest STEM workforce in the nation, California lags behind most states in fourth-grade math proficiency:

• 43rd overall
• 41st for students from low-income communities
• 30th (out of 39 states reporting) for Black students
• 37th (out of 47 states reporting) for Latino students

These challenges have been persistent for over a decade and were underscored by a 2025 report from the University of California San Diego that one in every eight incoming freshmen are not meeting high school math standards.

Early literacy skills are foundational to all future learning and have rightfully been prioritized in California and across the country. However, early math proficiency has actually proven to be an even greater predictor of later academic success than early reading skills. 

Math proficiency scores on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) are actually lower than reading scores. Only a fraction of California’s 5.8 million K-12 students are performing at grade level in math as of 2025:

• 37% overall
• 26% of low-income students 
• 26% of Latino students 
• 20% of Black students 
• 11% of English learners

Early exposure to math also helps students establish positive attitudes toward the subject. This helps to combat some of the social and psychological barriers that disproportionately affect girls and children of color.

And students from disadvantaged backgrounds who were provided early math instruction showed significant gains in their later academic performance, particularly in math and reading.

Screening tools are designed to be brief and practical to administer. Most math screeners average 20 minutes or less per student, depending on the grade level and tool.

While screening requires an upfront time investment by teachers, it helps save time over the course of the year. Results give teachers actionable data to target instruction, group students more effectively, and direct supports where they are most needed. Early identification also reduces prolonged student struggle and the need for more intensive interventions later.

Under SB 1067, local educational agencies may select the approved tools and evidence-based interventions that best fit their students’ needs and staff capacity. One of the factors considered by the screening tool selection panel will be time required to administer the screening and report results.

In recent years, at least 20 states have included universal early math screening and targeted support in their broader strategies to raise student achievement, and several are starting to see meaningful results, including the southern states that made the greatest gains in recent math NAEP scores.

Currently K-2 students in California are only required by the state to participate in:

1. Universal screening for reading difficulties (implemented in the 2025-26 school year);
2. English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, for English Learners

California has made some progress in addressing the state’s math challenges. In 2023, California adopted a revised Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. The framework was designed to support high-quality instruction aligned with rigorous standards and informed the state’s 2025 adoption of new math instructional materials for grades K-8—the first statewide adoption in more than 10 years. Additionally, the state has invested millions of dollars in expanded access to TK, as well as early math teacher training and coaches. 

Although California’s per-pupil spending continues to rise, math achievement has declined over the last decade. One contributing factor is the lack of a consistent statewide approach to identifying early math difficulties and providing timely, evidence-based intervention. This reduces the impact of current investments and adds strain to educators. As a result, many students—particularly Black and Latino students and students from low-income communities—fall behind in math and never catch up. 

Recently, California implemented K-2 universal screening for reading difficulties as part of a comprehensive approach to early literacy instruction. Establishing a comparable approach in math would align the state’s literacy and numeracy efforts and help ensure early math challenges are addressed before becoming long-term barriers to opportunity.

One in every five English learners in the country attends a school in California. The policy outlined in SB 1067 is designed to ensure that these students (over one million) receive equitable educational experiences. 

Screening tools have been shown to reliably identify math difficulties among English learners. Moreover, SB 1067 requires that English learners be screened in their primary languages to the extent assessments in those languages are available; most early math screeners are available in Spanish. SB 1067 also includes local flexibility to use alternative evaluation methods if the LEA’s adopted screening tool is not available in a student’s primary language.

If an English learner student is identified as having math difficulties, the school will be required to provide timely and targeted support.  Screening results may NOT be used to track students or for any high-stakes purpose (e.g.,  special education determination, grade promotion or retention, reclassification of English learners, or identification for gifted or talented education).