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Behind the Numbers: How America’s Math Crisis Found Its Way into San Diego Classrooms
Nationwide, U.S. math scores have plunged to historic lows, and experts warn California students are not immune. The 2024 Nation’s Report Card shows only one-third of high school seniors are college-ready in math, down from 37% five years ago, while a staggering 45% of 12th graders scored below the “basic” level. These high school results mirror a broader crisis: fourth- and eighth-grade math scores have also lagged pre-pandemic levels, and just roughly one-third of fourth graders and one-quarter of eighth graders meet NAEP proficiency. Educators say the drops were felt across the spectrum, even middle- and high-performing students lost ground in 2024.
In San Diego and statewide, educators and parents feel the crunch. Federal education budget cuts have strained national testing efforts. Recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Education left only two senior staffers to handle the massive NAEP testing system. With fewer staff and canceled assessments, officials say it’s harder to track students’ progress or target interventions. Meanwhile, growing class sizes and teacher shortages compound the problem.
Many local families have responded by paying privately to help their kids catch up. Tutoring in Southern California costs hundreds per month, often $50 to $80 an hour or more, and families routinely spend $300 to $400 per month on math tutors. School districts have followed suit, investing thousands per student in “high impact” tutoring programs; one analysis estimates districts spend an average of $1,200 to $2,500 per student on such initiatives. But researchers say these efforts rarely reach the ideal intensity. A new study found that even large tutoring programs in big districts yielded only a few months of extra learning on average, short of the gains seen in pre-pandemic trials. In short, only a tiny fraction of students gets enough high-quality tutoring to fully catch up, and the rest fall further behind.
The result is often rising math anxiety. Already low confidence among students has dipped further: NAEP surveys report that 12th graders in 2024 felt significantly less confident in math than their 2019 peers. Parents in San Diego say too many children conclude they “just aren’t math people,” echoing a myth math experts deplore. “Math isn’t about talent; it’s about having the right method, the right mindset and the willingness to keep showing up,” said California-based educator Vibeke Faengsrud. Faengsrud, a one-time struggling student herself, created a new platform, House of Math, to tackle just this issue.
Officially launched in the U.S. in August 2025, House of Math is a Norway-born, AI-powered learning system that has already been used by millions in Europe. Faengsrud’s Palo Alto startup has packaged a complete K-12 math curriculum into personalized, gamified lessons that adapt to each learner. The platform “fills every single gap” in a student’s understanding by guiding them back to fundamentals and then forward again. In practice, it provides step-by-step AI tutoring and interactive games for each concept, rewarding progress and building confidence rather than rote drilling. As Faengsrud explains, “Math is not a code to crack. It’s a recipe to follow.” Her goal is to dismantle the “math brain” myth and give every student a chance to succeed.
Early adopters in California report that House of Math can work as a supplement to classroom teaching. Faengsrud likens her system to having millions of tutors on one platform, tailored to each learner. Crucially, House of Math combines cutting-edge technology (AI, neuroscience-based methods and gamification) with time-tested mastery learning. “We’ve built a global learning platform powered by AI, gamification, neuroscience and a serious dose of grit,” Faengsrud said.
For now, House of Math is one of many emerging ideas trying to turn the math tide. Whether it can scale fast enough to help large California cohorts remains to be seen. But in a state where large gaps have opened in math achievement, parents and educators are watching these new approaches closely. As Faengsrud puts it, mastering math can “change your future,” and after years of declines, students here need every advantage they can get.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Behind the Numbers: How America’s Math Crisis Found Its Way into San Diego Classrooms
Behind the Numbers: How America’s Math Crisis Found Its Way into San Diego Classrooms
Nationwide, U.S. math scores have plunged to historic lows, and experts warn California students are not immune. The 2024 Nation’s Report Card shows only one-third of high school seniors are college-ready in math, down from 37% five years ago, while a staggering 45% of 12th graders scored below the “basic” level. These high school results mirror a broader crisis: fourth- and eighth-grade math scores have also lagged pre-pandemic levels, and just roughly one-third of fourth graders and one-quarter of eighth graders meet NAEP proficiency. Educators say the drops were felt across the spectrum, even middle- and high-performing students lost ground in 2024.
In San Diego and statewide, educators and parents feel the crunch. Federal education budget cuts have strained national testing efforts. Recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Education left only two senior staffers to handle the massive NAEP testing system. With fewer staff and canceled assessments, officials say it’s harder to track students’ progress or target interventions. Meanwhile, growing class sizes and teacher shortages compound the problem.
Many local families have responded by paying privately to help their kids catch up. Tutoring in Southern California costs hundreds per month, often $50 to $80 an hour or more, and families routinely spend $300 to $400 per month on math tutors. School districts have followed suit, investing thousands per student in “high impact” tutoring programs; one analysis estimates districts spend an average of $1,200 to $2,500 per student on such initiatives. But researchers say these efforts rarely reach the ideal intensity. A new study found that even large tutoring programs in big districts yielded only a few months of extra learning on average, short of the gains seen in pre-pandemic trials. In short, only a tiny fraction of students gets enough high-quality tutoring to fully catch up, and the rest fall further behind.
The result is often rising math anxiety. Already low confidence among students has dipped further: NAEP surveys report that 12th graders in 2024 felt significantly less confident in math than their 2019 peers. Parents in San Diego say too many children conclude they “just aren’t math people,” echoing a myth math experts deplore. “Math isn’t about talent; it’s about having the right method, the right mindset and the willingness to keep showing up,” said California-based educator Vibeke Faengsrud. Faengsrud, a one-time struggling student herself, created a new platform, House of Math, to tackle just this issue.
Officially launched in the U.S. in August 2025, House of Math is a Norway-born, AI-powered learning system that has already been used by millions in Europe. Faengsrud’s Palo Alto startup has packaged a complete K-12 math curriculum into personalized, gamified lessons that adapt to each learner. The platform “fills every single gap” in a student’s understanding by guiding them back to fundamentals and then forward again. In practice, it provides step-by-step AI tutoring and interactive games for each concept, rewarding progress and building confidence rather than rote drilling. As Faengsrud explains, “Math is not a code to crack. It’s a recipe to follow.” Her goal is to dismantle the “math brain” myth and give every student a chance to succeed.
Early adopters in California report that House of Math can work as a supplement to classroom teaching. Faengsrud likens her system to having millions of tutors on one platform, tailored to each learner. Crucially, House of Math combines cutting-edge technology (AI, neuroscience-based methods and gamification) with time-tested mastery learning. “We’ve built a global learning platform powered by AI, gamification, neuroscience and a serious dose of grit,” Faengsrud said.
For now, House of Math is one of many emerging ideas trying to turn the math tide. Whether it can scale fast enough to help large California cohorts remains to be seen. But in a state where large gaps have opened in math achievement, parents and educators are watching these new approaches closely. As Faengsrud puts it, mastering math can “change your future,” and after years of declines, students here need every advantage they can get.
Members of the editorial staff of San Diego Reader were not involved in the creation of this content.