‘We Would Like To Slow Down To Go Fast': State Delays Math Instruction Requirement

By WTOP News, Maryland Matters

August 26, 2026

The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to delay plans to require all school districts to include 60 minutes of math instruction for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools will now have until the fall of 2028 to implement the change.

The push to increase the time dedicated to math instruction follows a year in which state test scores showed just 27% of students were proficient in math.

Before the vote, members heard from Robert Miller, who retired from the Howard County school system, and argued that “without evidence, you are about to ruin a schedule that likely produces the best math outcomes in the state,” and still allows students to have access to arts programs.

Rachel McGrain, executive director of Arts Education in Maryland Schools, also addressed the board during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting. She said the requirement was already having negative effects in some school districts.

“In one school, students will be required to spend 30 of their 60-minute art classes on virtual and independent math instruction, literally replacing half of their art time with math,” McGrain said. “In another school, one day a week, every teacher, regardless of subject or licensure, is required to teach math.”

Board member Monica Goldson, former CEO of Prince George’s County Public Schools, said it is “very clear that we have to do something different in math if we expect to see the gains that we’re seeing in English and language arts.” Nearly 52% of all students were proficient in language arts in the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program test given in the spring.

“We need to talk more about what’s happening within these 60 minutes than focus on these minutes. We want more effective instructional time, not simply more minutes,” Goldson said.

Board member Marcy Leonard summed up the decision before the vote by saying that the board needed to proceed with the math instruction rules “thoughtfully.”

“What we are saying as an organization is that we would like to slow down to go fast,” Leonard said of the plan to delay the 60-minute requirement until the fall of 2028.

The motion passed unanimously.

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