Rep. Bob Freeman joins his colleagues and members of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers at a state Capitol press conference to discuss helping counties, helping people, and helping Pennsylvania with better budgets. (Photo/Pa.House)
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Legislation that would support math fluency for all Pennsylvania kindergarten through fifth-grade students with a proven approach such as the First in Math initiative has been introduced by state Rep. Robert Freeman.
First in Math is a program that features hundreds of engaging math games designed to strengthen fact fluency, automaticity, computational thinking and other critical problem-solving skills. Many parents and past students are familiar with the “24 Game,” and area school districts and intermediate units frequently set up tournaments based on the game.
(Photo/Shutterstock)
“First in Math is a proven, user-friendly educational tool for learning math skills,” said Freeman (D-Northampton). “Longtime Easton resident and First in Math creator Bob Sun has demonstrated his devotion to promoting math skills with remarkable success as First in Math is now being used in more than 40 states. This is a tremendous opportunity to provide students in all schools throughout the commonwealth with a successful math learning tool that comes with proven data to support its outstanding record of improving the academic attainment of math proficiency.”
“What teachers are looking for are options and new ideas, and the First in Math approach is a proven, fun learning tool that could help boost math learning and interest in school,” he said.
The legislation would require the Pennsylvania Department of Education to establish a statewide math initiative and encourage its usage by educators. It would be an optional tool at no cost to the local school district, and not a mandated part of the curriculum. All curriculum decisions continue to remain at the local school district level.
Freeman said educators could use the program as part of enrichment or extension education, summer learning or to complement current work already being done in the classroom.
House Bill 1770 is expected to be referred to the House Education Committee for consideration.
A similar initiative, New York State’s Expanded Math Access Program, launched in 2019 and provided funding for five years. Even with pandemic-related disruptions, math proficiency rates increased by 5% from 2019 to 2023. The program recently expanded to include grades 6-8, demonstrating its scalability and success.
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