Math Citizen

Program overview

Providing a standardized curriculum to boost math achievement: Citizen Math is a supplemental math curriculum focused on encouraging students to learn math through real-world applications. Citizen Math provides lessons for Grades 6-8, as well as Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. Students in classrooms using Citizen Math have shown increased math achievement.
Offering high-quality, ready-to-use lessons: Citizen Math provides “off the shelf” lessons, which are ready for classroom use with minimal extra effort on the part of teachers. They use evidence-based pedagogical practices and come with interactive tools, handouts, and teacher support materials.
Prioritizing real-world application: Citizen Math lessons prioritize real-world application, to make math concepts more tangible for students. For example, a lesson may ask students to apply learnings about linear equations and lines of best fit to answer the question, “What factors influence homelessness in a city?”
Supplementing key math topics: Citizen Math lessons cover grade-appropriate math concepts as a supplement to the main curriculum, and are designed to be taught over two to five class periods. Citizen Math provides five to seven lessons each year, each of which can be used when those concepts are covered in the main curriculum.

A single study with a rigorous design provides some evidence for Citizen Math as a strategy for improving math achievement.

A 2018 randomized controlled trial found that students of teachers who received both access to Math Citizen lessons and support implementing them earned math test scores that were 0.086 standard deviations higher than those of the control group.
Access to these lessons was particularly impactful in the classrooms of lower-performing teachers and first- and second-year teachers, who saw an even larger impact in their classrooms on student test scores.

Remind teachers of their access: An evaluation found that forgetfulness was a reason teachers did not use the Citizen Math lessons consistently or with fidelity. To address this issue, schools may consider assigning an instructional coach or department chair with the responsibility for checking teacher lesson plans and ensuring they continue to use the curriculum. Department chairs can also encourage teachers to opt into email reminders from Citizen Math.
Create community of practice among teachers: As with the implementation of any new curriculum, teachers may struggle with technology challenges or student engagement. Collaboration sessions among teachers may help them trouble-shoot issues they run into, thus supporting long-term use of the program. An instructional coach or department chair may be identified to serve as a point of contact for teachers who need extra support.
Use both formative and summative assessment: While summative assessment will remain important for assessing student skill level, formative assessment at the beginning of a unit will give teachers valuable data on their students’ growth. Teachers should offer a pre-test and post-test for each unit in order to assess student learning from the Citizen Math lessons.