The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress just painted a dismal picture of math performance in America鈥檚 schools, continuing to show more than a decade of stagnation. What will it take to alter course? Shalinee Sharma has some thoughts. The author of Math Mind: The Simple Path to Loving Math and the co-founder of Zearn, an online math-lesson platform, Sharma argues that every student has the capacity to succeed at math. She founded Zearn more than a decade ago to support math learning. The nonprofit is used today by more than a quarter of the nation鈥檚 elementary students and over a million middle schoolers. I recently had a chance to talk with her about math, Zearn, and what schools can do better. Here鈥檚 what she had to say:
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Rick: Your recent book draws on what you鈥檝e learned about math while building Zearn. So, let鈥檚 start with: What is Zearn?
Shalinee: Numeracy is one of the best predictors of a child鈥檚 success. Yet, it is also an area where American children are falling behind. Zearn was founded as a nonprofit in response to this challenge. Our goal is to help every child learn and love math. To do this, we鈥檝e built an online program with lessons covering K鈥�8 math concepts designed to help teachers ensure every student can succeed in grade-level math. Teachers and families can access our full library of digital math lessons for free. We serve schools of all types and contexts鈥攑ublic, private, charter, religious, and home schools鈥攁nd over 60 percent of our partners are Title I schools targeting disadvantaged areas. Since launching our K鈥�5 experience in 2017 and our K鈥�8 experience in 2022, we鈥檝e grown to serve 1 in 4 elementary students and more than one million middle schoolers.
Rick: How does Zearn work?
Shalinee: Zearn鈥檚 digital lessons build both procedural fluency and deep conceptual understanding while also making sure to provide support as students work through challenging problems. Each lesson starts with fluency games to practice essential skills. Then, video lessons with on-screen teachers introduce new concepts visually鈥攍ike slicing oranges to explore fractions鈥攕o math makes sense. Throughout the video lessons, students are prompted to solve problems that reinforce their learning both on screen and on paper. If students get stuck, the lessons adapt in real time to give students the support they need. For example, if a 7th grader can鈥檛 translate a word problem into an equation, a video will pop up, helping them visualize it. Then, a virtual equation builder helps them translate those concepts into the right equation. Each lesson ends with a mastery quiz, requiring students to earn a perfect score before moving on.
Rick: What can you tell us about Zearn鈥檚 results?
Shalinee: Since launching our K鈥�5 program in 2017, we have been committed to building a rigorous evidence base to understand Zearn鈥檚 impact on learning outcomes, including findings from randomized controlled trials for the highest level of research validation. An early study from 2019 found a small positive effect, though it did not reach statistical significance. As states and districts provide broad-based access to Zearn across their schools, we have conducted QEDs evaluating Zearn鈥檚 impact on students who use the program with fidelity, which means completing three or more lessons per week. For example, led by the Virginia department of education, showed that students who completed between three to five Zearn lessons per week surpassed statewide averages on the Virginia SOL Assessment Program by between 22 percent and 24 percent. Most recently, a QED, peer-reviewed examining widespread, programmatic use of Zearn found statistically significant gains in state math scores. Two additional third-party studies鈥攐ne randomized controlled trial funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and one quasi-experimental study鈥攚ill release findings in 2025, which will help further strengthen our evidence base.
Rick: You came to this work after more than a decade as a consultant at management-consulting company Bain. How did you make that jump? And how do you address skepticism about a noneducator wading into math instruction?
Shalinee: My journey in math education has been unexpected. I spent a decade at Bain, working with Fortune 50 companies. During that time, I was fortunate to be connected with innovative teachers in New York City who were helping underserved students excel beyond expectations. As a co-founder of Zearn, I鈥檝e drawn on lessons from my prior career experiences鈥攂uilding a lean, world-class team, navigating complex systems, scaling effectively, and driving impact sustainably. What I鈥檇 say to a skeptic of a businessperson in education is that I agree with their skepticism. Deep expertise and experience in teaching and learning is simply table stakes, and that鈥檚 why at Zearn, great teachers are figuring out the answers. I view myself as the arms and legs of these great teachers, scaling their work.
Rick: All right, so let鈥檚 talk about your recent book, Math Mind. What鈥檚 the big idea?
Shalinee: It鈥檚 that all kids can succeed in math with the right support and belief in their potential. In the book, I outline a set of essentials for building a 鈥�.鈥� Two critical elements are teaching math to build understanding and ensuring purposeful practice. Purposeful practice builds fluency, making basic math processes automatic and freeing mental capacity for complex problem-solving. At the same time, learning with pictures and objects helps students grasp the 鈥渨hy鈥� behind math, making abstract concepts tangible.
Rick: In the book, you write, 鈥淥ur math education system makes learning math a hellish experience.鈥� What do you mean by that? And what should we do about it?
Shalinee: American students are held back by an enduring misconception: You are either a 鈥渕ath kid鈥� or you鈥檙e not. This belief contrasts sharply with other countries鈥�, where shows that students see success in math as achievable through hard work. The says all humans have an inherent number sense and ability to think mathematically. Babies only a few days old can distinguish between two and three. Unfortunately, too many American students experience math as a rigid series of tricks, speed tests, and rote rules, discouraging curiosity and fostering anxiety. This leaves kids believing they aren鈥檛 鈥渕ath people.鈥�
Rick: The 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� movement has successfully changed how many schools teach reading. You talk about an analogous push for a 鈥渟cience of math.鈥� What do you have in mind?
Shalinee: We know a lot about how to support math learning, but it is not as well-researched as reading. What we do know is that, unlike literacy, there鈥檚 no 鈥渢hree cueing鈥� to eliminate, no single pedagogy to ban. Math requires both procedural fluency and conceptual understanding鈥攖here are no trade-offs. The science of math is getting this balance鈥攑rocedural fluency and conceptual understanding鈥攔ight. The research on this balance, among other key findings to ensure math makes sense, is best summarized in the of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel of 2008.
Rick: In your book鈥檚 final chapter, 鈥淔rom Sorting to Teaching,鈥� you argue that every student can excel at math if they have the right teacher. You acknowledge that there鈥檚 skepticism on this count. After all, this seems a bit like insisting that every student can excel at literary criticism, dance, or basketball if they only have the right teacher. How do you answer such concerns?
Shalinee: It is important to distinguish between skills that are nice to have and skills that are essential to have. Sure, it鈥檚 nice to be graceful on the dance floor or sink shots from the foul line, but your future success isn鈥檛 predicated on it. That isn鈥檛 true for mathematics; it is an essential skill. No matter if you are an auto mechanic or a data scientist, today鈥檚 jobs require numeracy. Thus, all kids can and should be expected to learn math鈥攊rrespective of their perceived abilities. When I talk about excelling in math, I mean raising the bar and ensuring basic numeracy by passing algebra. Algebra completion is one of the best predictors of high school and college graduation, getting into college, and future earnings. Not only is algebra proficiency the gateway to future success for students, but it is also essential for the United States to ensure global competitiveness, since all higher-performing countries get all their kids to algebra proficiency.
Rick: In the book, it can sound like you鈥檙e suggesting that Zearn can help provide every math student with the instruction they need. Can you say a bit about what you have in mind?
Shalinee: Nothing can replace the work of teachers. However, just about every teacher will tell you they would benefit from more support to help kids succeed in math and that one of their biggest challenges is keeping every student on track. In a class of 20 or 30 students, that is really challenging. In fact, a found that teachers ranked 鈥渕aterials to scaffold grade-level math instruction鈥� as an area where they need more support. Zearn is built to provide that support. We help teachers with digital math lessons that adapt in real-time, helping students overcome challenges and learn through their struggles.
Rick: OK, last question. What鈥檚 one essential tip you鈥檇 offer to parents and 糖心动漫vlog for instilling the love of math?
Shalinee: My advice for teachers and parents instilling a love of math is different. Teachers should seize every opportunity to make math tangible. While we know building a math mind is a nuanced endeavor, understanding lies in bridging abstract concepts to the concrete and physical world. Consider fractions: Is 1/3 or 1/4 a larger number? Cut a cake into thirds and fourths. It鈥檚 intuitive which is bigger, especially for a kid! This type of understanding can help build a love of math. My advice to parents is to make practice fun. Math, like everything, requires practice. Swap out practice worksheets for a board game night, a deck of cards, or an online tool like Zearn. Play board games like Battleship or card games that naturally incorporate mathematical thinking. Through play, you鈥檒l both cultivate your child鈥檚 math mind and a love of math.
