“Alright, kids, brace yourselves. We’re starting something new today!”
If you’ve ever slipped into that phrase at the start of math class—and I’ll admit, I’ve said it more times than my caffeine-addled brain can count—you’re not alone. It’s like a ritual: cue the dramatic drumroll, unveil today’s conquest, spark a flicker of excitement.
But here’s the math-y kicker: How often should we actually be reinventing the wheel in math class? Math concepts are like building blocks, not surprise party poppers. When students perceive a concept as totally new, disconnected from previous learning, it’s less of an “aha!” moment and more of an “uh-oh” for everyone in the room.
Math: The Great Connected Storybook
Think about fractions in grades 3–5. They’re just cousins of partitioning shapes in kindergarten. Integers in middle school? They’re extensions of operations with whole numbers in earlier grades. Math is connected, compounding, like a growing friendship circle, not random acquaintances.
But teachers and students often don’t get the memo. That’s why starting each day with “something new” becomes an accidental misrepresentation of how math actually works. The real challenge—and opportunity—is helping everyone feel that math is a narrative, where past, present, and future ideas live in harmony.
Recognizing the interconnectedness of math helps us become better planners when it comes to instruction. Consider this: if you know you’ll be teaching fractions in September and will tackle ratios and decimals in two months, instead of planning days of reteaching, plan to strengthen specific components when you revisit the concept.
Everyone Needs the Storybook
The first task is for educators and leaders to wear the “big picture” glasses: understand how standards and domains fit together across grades. When educators see this landscape, the “new” becomes a sequel, not a reboot.
PLC time and the ability to collaborate between grade levels to strengthen scope and sequence become clearer. When everyone has the time and space to make the connections across math concepts, instructional goals become tangible and doable!
Once teachers internalize these links, the next step is to show those connections to students. Say, “Remember how last year we tackled fractions by slicing shapes? Now we’ll slice whole numbers with the same logic.” That one line can make math feel like a journey, not a surprise. And trust me, students love a good story.
Tools That Promote Coherence, Not Chaos
This is a common problem we've heard countless educators ask: “How do we make this connection clear and make it happen without overwhelming teachers?” That’s where HQIA comes in. A high-quality instructional assessment enables educators to unpack and weave standards across time, gaining greater instructional utility to connect math instruction across lessons.
Let’s say that last week you taught how to multiply fractions. When students take an HQIA, you can see not only which students have grasped the concept, but also if anyone’s misconception stems from misreading the denominator or forgetting prior multiplication rules. You can pivot instruction in real time.
The forward-looking piece of a solid HQIA provides the path to emphasize connection. So, when you’re about to plan that lesson on multiplying decimals, you can see the strengths and growth areas of your classroom before you teach the lesson and get the insight on how to make these connections.
Rather than generic diagnostic data, HQIA give insights that are actionable, aligned, and timely. It respects your curriculum and gives you real leverage. Not just data, but direction.
The Bigger Picture: Results That Show Up
The importance of connectedness goes beyond the classroom level. When we start connecting learning components towards larger standards and the standards to one another with an HQIA, our curriculum, instruction, and professional development become connected across a district. Envision how this could look:
- A math instructional coach gets the data from their school’s HQIA and can lead the next PLC conversation to better understand and teach a concept that shows up in the next lesson.
- A principal can look across grades and set instructional goals based on the information in the HQIA. They can lead multi-grade scope and sequence discussions on specific topics they know students need to grow in and connect to previous grades’ instruction. This helps inform observation and feedback to see how to support teachers in teaching the focus topic and what to look for during those walkthroughs.
- A Director of Math can look at this information across the district and inform districtwide professional learning investments to help boost a math concept that students are struggling with across the district or one they know will appear in future grade levels.
This picture shows what’s possible when coherence is real across the district-wide and centered on the student. Why does all this matter? Because coherence and clarity move the needle. Based on ANet’s Breakthrough Results Study:
- Schools partnered with ANet conditions saw six additional months of learning over 2 years.
- After four years, schools that met instructional leadership goals were 8% more likely to achieve math proficiency.
These aren’t magic bullets. They’re outcomes produced by leaders who lean into aligned instruction, curriculum, and assessment by utilizing job-embedded coaching, high-quality instructional materials, aligned professional learning, and high-quality instructional assessments.
Exploring Coherence through ANet’s HQIA: Compass Math
Compass Math, ANet’s latest high-quality instructional assessment, helps educators look back on the lessons that were taught and look ahead to the next lesson to sharpen instruction. For district leaders, this enables you to see ROI for high-quality instructional materials and get a view of how your materials are being leveraged in the classroom.
Our webinar, 'Actionable Data Review: Modeling Instructional Utility with Compass Math,' showcases how high-quality instructional assessments (HQIA) can fuel stronger teaching and learning without pulling educators away from their curriculum. The webinar will model a teacher data review using Compass Math reports, highlighting how educators can quickly translate data insights into next-step instructional decisions that align with the rigorous, grade-level content found within their high-quality curriculum. You can register for either our December 4 or our December 9 webinar by clicking this link.
Whether you’re a school leader, department head, or district math guru, Compass Math can transform assessment from noise into a narrative where each test guides your next instruction.
Final Thoughts
We’ve all stood at the front of the room saying, “Today we’re learning something new.” But what if that “new” was really a next chapter? What if students recognized each concept as part of a connected story?
With instructional coherence, that’s precisely what happens. Standards start to feel like teammates, not strangers; assessments become tools, not checkpoints; and instruction becomes a living, breathing journey forward.
So let’s trade “new again” for “next up.” Let’s make math feel less like a series of isolated skits and more like a big, epic saga. If you want to explore HQIA, we’re here—ready to help you tell that story.
- Jeffrey Mister | Senior Director, Partner Experience & Impact