A Journey into Math Literacy: From Misconceptions to Breakthroughs

Two years ago, we began working with students in East Palo Alto, thanks to Ms. Huang, a passionate and dedicated math teacher who believed her students deserved more. That experience opened my eyes in ways I hadn’t expected.

Here’s what I learned:

• In California, only 35% of students pass the state math exam.

• In Palo Alto, the pass rate is around 80%.

• In East Palo Alto? Just 4%.

I initially assumed the problem was a lack of resources—books, tools, tutoring. So we did what seemed logical: we provided tutoring. But I was wrong.

While a few students responded well, the majority didn’t even ask for help. Many had already internalized the belief that they simply weren’t smart, that math was boring, that it just wasn’t for them. They had checked out. The biggest barrier wasn’t comprehension—it was confidence. It wasn’t content—it was mindset.

And this problem extends far beyond East Palo Alto. For many of the two-thirds of California students who aren’t meeting math standards, the obstacle isn’t their ability—it’s their belief.

Then I met Michael Xu, a retired master teacher from Phoenix. For over two decades, he taught in a low-income, under-resourced school district—and year after year, 95–100% of his students met or exceeded grade-level expectations.

His secret? He didn’t just teach math. He taught students to believe in their capacity to think—to reason, to problem-solve, to persevere. His classrooms weren’t just about formulas or facts. They were about identity and agency.

We knew we had to learn from him.

Last year, Ms. Huang began adapting his methods, starting with a small group of students. The shift in engagement was almost immediate. Students leaned in. They asked questions. They started to see themselves differently.

But transforming teaching practice—especially under pressure and with limited support—is not easy. It requires time, mentorship, and a model that teachers can see and trust.

So this year, we’re taking a bold step: inviting Mr. Xu to co-teach one of Ms. Huang’s classes for a full month. Every lesson will be filmed, not as a training video, but as a living case study—raw, real, and replicable.

What began as a modest tutoring effort is evolving into something bigger—a movement to tackle math literacy at its roots. If we can codify and share Mr. Xu’s approach, we might unlock a scalable, human-centered way to reach the students most at risk of being left behind.

This comes at a pivotal moment. Microsoft has partnered with Khan Academy to explore AI in education—a promising development. But even with powerful tools, there’s still no clear roadmap for engaging the unmotivated learner, the student who has already decided they don’t belong in the world of math.

We think we may have found a piece of that puzzle.

That’s why we’re seeking to connect with Khan Academy’s CEO. If you have a connection—or ideas for how to bring this vision to a larger stage—please help us.

Together, we can reimagine what it means to teach, and more importantly, what it means to believe.