PowerMyLearning

The “math wars” have lasted 40 years. Fluency vs. conceptual understanding. Direct instruction vs. discovery learning. Procedures vs. problem-solving.

Every one of those debates is about how to teach math. None of them answer the more fundamental question: what do students actually need to learn?

This gap is exactly why we created the Foundations of Numeracy.

After synthesizing 200+ studies with leading math education experts, we identified four cornerstones every student needs before middle school:
1. Content: integers, fractions, shapes, data
2. Competencies: conceptual understanding, fact fluency, procedural fluency, application
3. Ways of Thinking: symbolic understanding, pattern recognition, explaining, sense-making
4. Motivators: identity, persistence, curiosity, relevance

These are not competing priorities. The research is clear: fluency supports understanding, understanding strengthens fluency, and none of it sticks without reasoning and motivation behind it.

This framework gives educators, district leaders, curriculum developers, policymakers, and families a shared map of where students are headed. The Science of Reading gave literacy a common language that cut through decades of debate. Elementary math deserves the same.

The Foundations of Numeracy is free, open-licensed under CC BY http://4.0, and built to be used, adapted, and built upon.

Download the full framework here: https://powermylearning.org/foundations-of-numeracy/

As the school year comes to a close, we’re excited to celebrate alongside Los Angeles elementary students as they prepare for their next big step.

Across our partnerships nationwide, students are moving forward with stronger math foundations and growing confidence, curiosity, and belief in what they can achieve next.

Congratulations to this year’s graduates and the teachers, school leaders, and staff who support them every day. The future is bright. ✨

Math intervention often starts with the same question: What did students get wrong?

In Part 2 of her guest blog series with Growth Mind Consulting, PowerMyLearning’s Jillian Mendoza invites us to start somewhere more useful. Instead of focusing only on the answer, see how identifying the root cause of students’ misunderstandings can lead to stronger instruction and more targeted support.

PowerMyLearning’s Foundations of Numeracy framework offers school and district leaders a shared lens for doing this work. It helps teams look beyond scores to understand what students actually need, whether that is conceptual understanding, fluency, application, reasoning, or confidence.

For educators and leaders working to strengthen elementary math outcomes, explore practical examples of how research can inform clearer decisions in classrooms, PLCs, and intervention planning.

Using the Foundations of Numeracy to Design Math Intervention and Professional Learning — Growing Minds Consulting Learn how PowerMyLearning's Foundations of Numeracy framework helps school and district leaders design targeted math intervention and teacher professional learning grounded in research.

Something powerful is happening in a first-grade classroom at one of our Texas partners: students are asking for more math.

We’re excited to be featured by LEAP Innovations in this month’s EDInnovator Spotlight, recognizing PowerMyLearning’s work to make student thinking visible through MathVoice.

The spotlight explores how MathVoice supports student-centered math learning by helping teachers better understand how students reason, where misconceptions may be emerging, and what support students need next. See what’s possible when innovation is designed to strengthen teacher practice, not replace it.

Check out the feature to learn more!

Learn More About Power My Learning — LEAP Innovations EDInnovator Spotlight Learn More About Power My Learning Learn More About PowerMyLearning PowerMyLearning is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving math outcomes for elementary students. For more than 25 years, PowerMyLearning has partnered with schools and districts to strengthen teaching and....

Our team enjoyed a wonderful visit to Grape Street Elementary in Los Angeles alongside our California Family Math Initiative partners this week. Together, we’re supporting students, families, educators, and district leaders to strengthen math outcomes across Los Angeles.

The California Family Math Initiative (CFMI) engages families of TK–2nd grade students in joyful math learning at school and at home to improve both math achievement and student confidence in math. Through this collaboration, we’re working alongside Partnership for Los Angeles Schools leaders to strengthen family engagement practices and expand access to meaningful math learning experiences. As part of this work, we provide access to MathVoice, a tool that helps young learners build confidence by talking through and explaining their mathematical thinking.

We’re grateful to our partners for making this work possible: National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement Masons of California Partnership for Los Angeles Schools Raising a Reader National

Earlier this week, PowerMyLearning’s Director of Math Jillian Mendoza and Product Research & Insights Specialist Brian Baker, Ed.M. joined educators, district leaders, and AI practitioners at the 2026 AI Empowered EDU Conference in Portland, Oregon.

Their session, “Designing with AI to Amplify Teacher’s Math Instruction,” explored how MathVoice uses purpose-built AI to help educators better understand student mathematical thinking, moving beyond right-or-wrong answers to reveal how students reason through math concepts.

Key themes and takeaways included:
✨ Educators are eager for AI tools that strengthen instruction while keeping teachers firmly at the center of decision-making.
✨ District leaders are looking for practical, scalable ways to better understand student thinking and support stronger math outcomes across classrooms.
✨ Session attendees responded strongly to MathVoice’s play-based approach and classroom examples, sparking conversations about how mathematical discourse can deepen engagement, surface misconceptions, and make student thinking more visible.

PowerMyLearning’s 2026 Innovative Learning Awards celebrated what’s possible when students are empowered to explain their thinking, build confidence in math, and see themselves as mathematicians.

Check out our event recap for:
✨ Highlights and photos from the evening
✨ Reflections from honorees
✨ Our new video showing MathVoice in action

Thank you to everyone who joined us! There’s still time to complete your pledge and support our work as we continue expanding MathVoice to more classrooms nationwide.
https://blog.powermylearning.org/a-look-inside-the-2026-innovative-learning-awards

We’re excited to see educators and system leaders using the Foundations of Numeracy as a practical tool for stronger math decision-making.

Our Director of Math Jillian Mendoza highlights how the framework can help schools and districts move beyond surface-level alignment toward deeper coherence.

What does it actually mean to make research-backed math decisions at the school or district level?

That's the question Jillian Mendoza of PowerMyLearning tackles in this guest post — and the answer is more actionable than you might expect. She walks through the Foundations of Numeracy framework and how leaders can use it to evaluate curriculum, build coherence across programs, and ensure students are getting the full picture of what it takes to develop lasting mathematical proficiency.

Whether you're a principal, instructional coach, or district leader, this one is worth bookmarking.
Link in the comments!

In a new piece for EdSource, PowerMyLearning CEO Arun Ramanathan and Kiddom’s Abbas Manjee explore how AI can deepen student thinking instead of replacing teaching.

Check out their Star Trek-inspired ideas for designing learning environments that truly support teachers and students. 👇

COMMENTARY: ‘Star Trek’ didn’t replace teachers or ban screens; nor should we Just like in “Star Trek,” technology should function as infrastructure rather than instructor, part of the environment, not the focus of attention.