Beyond “I’m Not a Math Person”: How Rigorous Math Builds Confidence and Closes Gender Gaps
By Dr. Tracey Plante
I’m not good at math. Neither is my mom. Her teachers used to make her stand in front of the class at the board all the time because she got everything wrong. I can’t add to save my life, let alone divide.
–Tracey Plante, 4th-grade student
In a time when states and schools are rightly focused on reading and literacy achievement, mathematics also deserves equal attention as a complementary foundation for student success. In the 2024-2025 school year, educators were required to take training under the READ Act. In 2025-2026, districts are requiring teachers to engage in professional development to implement the literacy practices they learned. That same momentum and professional learning structure can be leveraged to elevate mathematics instruction—not in the shadow of reading growth, but alongside it.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), in 2022, 9-year-old students saw a 7-point decline in math scores and a 5-point decline in reading scores. This was the first time mathematics scores had fallen for this age group. Furthermore, across the United States and other parts of the world, we continue to see gender-based gaps in math. While this can be explained, in part, by tests designed with male bias, assessments also reveal which students are actually gaining access to strong math instruction. In 2019, 4th-grade boys scored 18 points higher than girls in mathematics, while 8th-grade boys scored 14 points higher. This disparity continues into adulthood, where, in the United States, just 28% of STEM careers are held by women (MIT, 2023). Mathematics, like reading, impacts lifelong success.
As an educator for more than 20 years, I have witnessed the gaps in mathematical beliefs between boys and girls. I have heard girls from all backgrounds say things like, “I’m not good at math because my mom isn’t good at math,” or “Boys are better at math, and girls are better at reading.”
Why do girls think this way? Why did I, as a 9-year-old girl, think this way, too? It wasn’t until my 6th-grade teacher, Miss May, told me I was wrong in my thinking when things shifted. My work with her was truly transformative. With her extra help, I gained the early foundation of confidence to pursue math into adulthood and become both a math interventionist and a math teacher. During parent-teacher conferences and open houses, mothers and female guardians have expressed concerns about their girls’ struggles in mathematics, attributing this to their own perceived lack of mathematical ability. Sometimes they feel “inadequate” or “dumb” because they struggle to help their child with their math homework. An inability to obtain math skills does not get carried down generations, but students’ lack of confidence in math can be handed down by constant influences that tell girls that they will not be able to learn or excel in math.
Math abilities aren’t genetic. Math is a learned skill that requires practice and training to push the mind to excel. As a woman who once believed she was “not a math person,” I wanted to explore how confidence shapes students’ growth in math. This became the foundation of my dissertation. My research showed the importance of maintaining rigorous standards while providing targeted support for historically excluded groups, including girls. For example, one multilingual 5-year-old girl told me, “My brother is better at math than me.” Her brother was in middle school—of course he had more advanced skills—but despite her perfect scores on assessments, she doubted herself. She saw her abilities as a deficit not because of her grade-appropriate math skills but because she was a girl comparing herself to a boy. That early mindset undoubtedly created anxiety and undermined her immediate and long-term confidence in math, unless caring adults intervene and disrupt that mindset.
Unfortunately, Minnesota’s gender-based math gaps persist even as overall scores decline. Rather than seizing the moment to act boldly for Minnesota’s future, lawmakers have proposed lowering expectations.
During the 2025 legislative session, legislators pushed to eliminate Algebra for middle and high school students (Mesabi Tribune, 2025; Minnesota Reformer, 2024). State Senator Robert Farnsworth (R-Hibbing) introduced a bill to eliminate Algebra I for middle schoolers and remove Algebra II as a graduation requirement. Removing high school algebra from state standards made it into State Senator Steve Cwodzinski’s (DFL-Eden Prairie) Senate Education Omnibus bill before being removed in final negotiations.
The fact that algebra was nearly dropped as a state standard shows just how much math fluency has been deprioritized. Lowering expectations will inevitably reduce our national standing and further limit girls’ access to STEM pathways. When we lower the bar, students will perform to that level. But when we raise expectations and give educators the tools they need, students rise to meet them. When policymakers defend high-quality math standards, rather than attempting to erode them, our state thrives.
Developing students’ confidence in math underscores why high-quality standards matter. Although there is no “Math Act,” mathematics should never be pushed to the margins. Educators can create safe, encouraging environments where girls feel empowered to explore math and take academic risks (The Danielson Group, 2023). Students passionate about other subjects can apply math across disciplines—analyzing populations in social studies, using logic skills in reading, working with formulas in chemistry, or interpreting economic trends. In other words, math extends far beyond the classroom. True learning happens when students connect subjects and transfer skills across disciplines.
Minnesota can’t afford to lower the bar in mathematics. By defending rigorous standards and ensuring all students, especially girls, have the chance to rise to them, we open doors to opportunity, equity, and a stronger future for our state.
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