At the beginning of a recent math class, students spent six minutes discussing a topic they knew well: themselves. What’s their favorite food? Answers came in English and Spanish—“todo” (everything), ...

Math isn’t just about numbers. It’s about language, too. Many math tasks involve reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These language demands can be particularly challenging for students whose ...

The cognitive flexibility that comes from being multilingual can give students a boost in math—if teachers know how to build on English learners’ strengths. Seventy-seven percent of 8th-grade ...