SFUSD superintendent says current math approach 'is not working,' proposes audit and stepped interventions

Superintendent Wayne opened the district's math progress-monitoring workshop by telling the Board of Education that "our current approach to math in SFUSD is not working," and he framed a multi-year plan intended to reverse declining student outcomes.

Wayne said district data show students' math progress falls behind earlier grades and that several actions are needed: adopt new interim assessments, expand research-based interventions districtwide, conduct an instructional audit, and review course sequencing and placement policies. "We need to put everything on the table," he said, listing assessments, instruction, curriculum, intervention, placement policy and acceleration as areas to examine.

The presentation described near-term steps the district will take in the next year: implement new interim, computer-adaptive assessments; expand an intervention tool piloted in some schools; conduct an instructional audit; and develop recommendations for placement and course-sequence changes in secondary grades. Wayne and staff emphasized that not all work can be completed in one year and that some curriculum changes will be phased to avoid overload at elementary sites.

Board members challenged staff on measurement and implementation. Commissioners pressed whether changing interim assessments would require resetting baselines and questioned how the district will ensure fidelity across hundreds of sites. Staff said current interim measures have low participation and imperfect correlation with SBAC, which reduces confidence, and that interim goals may be updated once new assessments are adopted. The district said the audit will provide actionable findings about what is and isn't working in classrooms and curriculum.

Staff and board also highlighted school-level "bright spots." John Muir Elementary was cited as an example where staff stability, shared professional-learning routines, coaching and frequent feedback appear linked to better outcomes. The district said it plans to learn from those sites and scale promising practices.

Public comment after the presentation ran for more than an hour and centered on math pathways. Dozens of parents, students, teachers and community advocates urged the board to restore Algebra I as an option in eighth grade, saying the current pathway compresses advanced work into fewer years and reduces access to calculus and higher-level STEM preparation for many students. Speakers included middle-school and high-school teachers who warned that any curriculum change requires sustained funding for professional development and coaching, and that SFUSD's reported teacher vacancies (teachers cited as a staffing constraint during the meeting) will hinder rollout without additional resources.

Several public commenters criticized contracting or product spending cited in the presentation: speakers named DreamBox Learning (a district-reported digital platform pilot) and TNTP (the outside firm the district has used for audits and analysis) and asked the board to prioritize hiring and coaching rather than expensive vendors. Others supported the audit and praised the superintendent's candid framing of the problem.

Next steps cited by staff: complete the instructional audit, roll out interim assessments, expand interventions piloted in schools, develop specific recommendations for placement and course-sequence changes, and report implementation progress to the board (with a documented response tied to the LCAP before the next school year).