Decluttering Mathematics: 5 Fundamental Understandings That Unleash Meaningful Student Thinking (Grades 6-12)

By Scott Adamson, April Strom, Ted Coe

What mathematics truly matters for student success in middle and high school? Can we really declutter the content while accomplishing more?

Too often, secondary mathematics instruction is cluttered with disconnected procedures, jargon, and "drill-and-kill" computational practice. This approach hands students a huge pile of tiny puzzle pieces where students never build or even see the picture of the puzzle on the box, leading to confusion and fragile thinking that unravels the moment a memorized formula is forgotten. This book, co-published with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, draws upon mathematics education research and offers an alternative that prioritizes fundamental understandings.

Drawing on over a century of combined experiences, including an NSF-funded project involving over 300 educators, this book identifies five fundamental understandings that serve as a bedrock for student thinking in grades 6-12. By centering on these core ideas, teachers can reduce clutter in both content and student thinking by elevating sense-making and meaning. The authors provide practical examples and show how unleashing student thinking pays off in amazing ways.

This book guides teachers and instructional coaches to reimagine the mathematics they teach and to bring it to life in the classroom. The five fundamental understandings act as big puzzle pieces that support students to accomplish bigger things with mathematics. Whether you are a veteran educator or a preservice teacher, this book helps create a robust, mathematical environment in which every student can experience the joy of true sense-making.

Book Features:
Five Fundamental Understandings: Identifies essential mathematical ideas--including measurement, comparisons, proportional relationships, equivalence, and graphical representations--to help teachers prioritize what matters most for student success.What Really Matters: Describes how the fundamental understandings unleash student thinking.The Math Attic: Recommends the mathematical clutter that can (and should) be de-prioritized in light of the five understandings.High-Profile Expertise: Authored by a team of experts and award-winning educators.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807784478
• ISBN13: 9780807784471
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 208 Pages