National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics advocates for more federal spending on schools and has endorsed claims that mathematics has been used historically as a tool of oppression. ³

Activities

Critical Race Theory-Aligned Pedagogy

In 2019, Seattle Public Schools was in the process of adopting a new curriculum that, while not mandatory, aimed to provide resources to teachers who wished to teach that mathematics is linked to “power and oppression” and “history of resistance and liberation.” ⁴ National Council of Teachers of Mathematics president Robert Berry said the Seattle school district was “definitely on the forefront” of the issue, adding that it “follows the line of work” his organization promotes and that NCTM wanted to move forward on that philosophy of teaching math. ⁴

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published in 1991 reform documents that called for “a new vision of mathematics pedagogy.” ⁵ The Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics asks that all teachers know students’ “linguistic, ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic background influence their learning of mathematics” and also know the role mathematics has in society and cultures. ⁵

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics also supports “equity-based” mathematics teaching. ⁶ This would involve teachers being asked to consider “how you identify yourself and how others identify you.” ⁶ It requires that teachers “reflect on their own identity, positions and beliefs in regards to racist and sorting-based mechanisms.”⁶

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) scheduled its 2025 “Annual Meeting & Exposition” in Atlanta, described by the organization as its “premier mathematics education event of the year.” The conference agenda included sessions on a range of teaching practices and research topics, among them workshops addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in mathematics education. Session titles included “Black Feminist Mathematics Pedagogies: Implications for Teaching from a Curricular Analysis,” “Reflecting on My Whiteness: Unpacking the Barriers Towards Transformative Mathematics Teaching,” and “Envisioning Antiracist Spaces for Mathematics Teaching and Leadership.” These sessions reflected ongoing discussions within the organization on the role of identity, equity, and antiracism in mathematics teaching and learning. ⁷

School Discipline Guidance

On Jan. 24, 2019, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics signed a letter addressed to then-U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and then-Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker stating they were disappointed by the rescission of the 2014 School Discipline Guidance put out by the U.S. Department of Education. ⁸

The 2014 Guidance was rescinded by the Trump administration in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting in 2018 where 17 people were shot and killed by Nikolas Cruz. ⁹

The Heritage Foundation criticized the 2014 Guidance, and stated the polices in the “Dear Colleague” letter were similar to those of numerous school districts including Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the Parkland shooting. ¹⁰ The policies follow left-leaning “restorative justice strategies” that attempt to keep students from being suspended and removed from school and limit “suspension, expulsion and arrests.” ¹⁰ The Heritage Foundation reported that “despite years of misbehavior” Cruz was never arrested or expelled, and said that the school policies that were similar to the ”Dear Colleague” letter were “troubling” and should be repealed. ¹¹

Leadership

Trena Wilkerson was selected as the president of the board of directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in April 2020. ¹² Wilkerson is a professor of mathematics at the Baylor University School of Education. ¹²

Kenneth Krehbiel is the executive director. He served as the associate executive director for communications for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics from 2000 to 2016. ²

Funding

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics had $11.4 million in total revenue in 2021 with $7.4 million coming from program service revenue. ¹³ The total revenue in 2021 was a 34 percent increase from the previous year. The nonprofit’s total expenses were $8.9 million in 2021. ¹

Comments On Racial Politics

In 2017, a counter-protester at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was killed when she was struck by a car driven through the crowd. ¹⁴ President Matt Larson and President-Elect Robert Berry released a statement responding that stated that they are “committed to a social justice position that challenges the role of power, privilege, and oppression.” They stated they support the “use of mathematics as an analytic tool to challenge power, privilege, and oppression.” ¹⁵

On June 1, 2020, President Trena Wilkerson and past president Robert Berry released a statement on the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. They stated that math teachers “teach more than mathematics” and also cited a quote from Ibram X. Kendi’s book How To Be An Antiracist that read, “One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist.’ The claim of ‘not racist’ neutrality is a mask for racism.” ¹⁶