Rhode Island Calling All Hands To Make Students Better Problem Solvers

Forbes

13-06-2025

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee joins families, students, and educators at a statewide Math Extravaganza ... More to spotlight efforts to improve math achievement.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) has no mixed feelings or hesitation about his education vision for the state—be better than Massachusetts and Connecticut.
'There is zero reason why Rhode Island can't be the best education provider in our region, in the country,' he told me at the recent 'Math Matters RI Extravaganza' in Providence.
The strategy? Stop putting responsibility for educational outcomes solely on teachers' shoulders. Bring the entire state into it.
'I'm a parent, grandparent and former basketball coach. My wife Susan is a retired reading teacher. I know that classroom learning is only part of the answer,' he said. 'To make real progress, our students need to feel the energy of learning and the power of problem solving in more of the places where they thrive—in their after-school activities, in their clubs, and teams—and especially at home.'
The governor made education a major pillar of his agenda in 2023 by launching 'Learn365RI' to 'shift learning from the traditional 180 school days to 365 days of learning by supporting partnerships between municipalities, local education agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to expand high-quality, extended learning experiences.'
That enthusiasm and support was on full display at the Providence event, hosted by Gov. McKee, R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, and the Rhode Island Department of Education. More than 700 people participated, along with math-related partners from groups like Zearn, Khan Academy, New Classrooms and Prisms. Particularly encouraging was watching kids, parents, policymakers and educators roll up their sleeves and dig in on games and activities that help promote math and problem-solving skills.
'Let's be clear. We're not talking about year-long classroom instruction,' he said. 'We're talking about ensuring that our students are surrounded by quality learning opportunities every day, inside and outside of school. Those games that kids and parents were playing today are great examples of things that we can all do to help our students succeed.'
The state has injected some $7 million into partnerships and programs in 38 of 39 municipalities across the state that have signed municipal learning compacts with the governor. Nearly $3 million of that investment supports out-of-school math-focused programming, specifically.
Each of the locations has followed its own approach for boosting youth partnerships outside the classroom to increase learning opportunities—from math camps and career technical education to computer programming and STEAM—or science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics classes. They also include non-traditional programs using activities like sailing and sports to increase contextual understanding of mathematics concepts.
This challenge is daunting. Test scores from the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) underscore the problem that Rhode Island leaders are attempting to reverse. The most recent 2024 scores found math proficiency rates among eight graders in the Ocean State stubbornly static.
But Rhode Island leaders are seeking to build on recent momentum. State assessment math results have rebounded past pre-pandemic levels of achievement with more students meeting or exceeding expectations than before the pandemic. Rhode Island has been able to close its math performance gap with Massachusetts by nearly 50 percent. And, the recently released Education Recovery Scorecard indicated that Rhode Island is recovering from pandemic learning loss faster than all New England states and ranks 14th in math recovery nationally.
Gov. Dan McKee was joined at the Math Extravaganza by local mayors, Education Commissioner Angelica ... More Infante-Greene, and nationally recognized math leader Shalinee Sharma of Zearn.
'The best way to help our students is to be completely honest about where they stand academically,' R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green told me. 'We continue to move in the right direction as a state, but about half of our students are graduating and they're not ready for the next stage of their careers, whether that's a four-year university or other skilled occupation. We're taking a proactive and collective approach to address this.'
That statistic has fueled updated graduation requirements, requiring students to complete four credits in math, including algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2 and an advanced math credit. To meet the new readiness-based graduation requirements, students must also prove proficiency in civics, financial literacy, computer science and the arts, as well as complete a resume and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
'We are certainly raising the education bar,' said Infante-Green. 'But that's what's needed to ensure our kids have every opportunity to do well in life. It's now up to us—all of us—to do as much as possible to help them reach that bar.'
The state is measuring progress on three metrics:
1) Mathematics and English language arts scores on the state annual summative assessment, the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System;
2) School attendance rates to address the state's chronic absenteeism; and
3) Completion rates of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
'Today, I watched kids and their parents playing board games and having a blast,' said Gov. McKee of the recent math event. 'That kind of activity is boosting their math foundation, while teaching them all kinds of other team building skills. And they're having fun while doing it. That's the kind of action we can all take to help our youngsters become amazing problem solvers.'