Reimagining Math Education: Teacher Experiences of Math Badging in High School
Our study finds both challenges and opportunities
This is the fourth in a series of posts by our 2025 summer interns, based on the projects they designed with their Center mentors. Mostafa Hanafy, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, worked with Senior Associates Caroline Wylie and André Rupp.
What are the opportunities and challenges states or districts face when implementing an initiative to reimagine how high school students learn math? This was the key question I had in mind when I started my summer research project. Working with my mentors Caroline Wylie and André Rupp, I designed a project focused on understanding the implementation of the XQ Math Badging Initiative in classrooms across Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, and tribal schools.
Math Badging: A Timely Intervention
Competency-based education models and associated efforts to transform high school education have experienced a resurgence nationwide, as illustrated by the recent launch of the Carnegie + XQ Institute Future of High School network. These efforts reflect increasing skepticism about “seat time” as the sole measure of learning, and declining trust in traditional grading practices, especially when coupled with educational approaches that are not strongly student-centered. As part of this work, micro-credentialing with badges is emerging as a way of recognizing learning in academic subjects, notably math.
The XQ Math Badging Initiative offers 23 competency-based badges aligned with high school algebra, geometry and data science concepts such as linear equations and trigonometric functions. Students earn badges through portfolios, performance assessments and task-based group projects rooted in real-world contexts (see this overarching framework).
During my internship, I conducted a brief landscape analysis of microcredentialing implementations in the K-12 space and used data from six focus groups and surveys to better understand teachers’ implementation experiences in the XQ Math Badging Initiative. In this blog, I briefly review some insights on what educators thought were strengths of the badging approach and where there could be refinements. This review and this report provide comprehensive pictures of systemic facilitators and barriers for the implementation of competency-based education initiatives; my findings below provide specific examples.
Opportunities and Impacts
- Promoting Real-World Problem-Solving
Traditional math instruction has often focused heavily on procedural drills and rote practice. In contrast, student-centered approaches such as math badging ask students to apply math concepts in real-world or practical contexts, engaging them in problem solving and analytical thinking. Teachers across the different sites valued this approach and noted that XQ Math Badging allowed students to make diverse connections to real-life contexts, showcase their learning in a variety of ways, and engage in projects that create more individualized learning experiences. - Boosting Student Engagement and Confidence
Teachers underscored the positive impacts of implementing math badging on students’ engagement and confidence. The approach empowered students to overcome their previous negative math experiences by helping them learn how to apply their foundational math skills in new contexts. This helped many students see themselves as successful math learners for the first time, since it offered them multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning and reflect on their growth, increasing engagement and interest. - Supporting All Learners
Teachers saw math badging as enjoyable and accessible for most students, regardless of background. Teachers noted that math badging allowed students with various needs to progress at their own pace, reducing the stigma of failure, since revisions were encouraged. They also reported that badging fostered students’ sense of accountability for their own learning. - Enhancing Teacher Collaboration
Teachers reported that local professional development opportunities, such as initial orientation opportunities and weekly or monthly community of practice meetings, were instrumental in the success of math badging (see also this report). These regular meetings offered teachers opportunities to exchange experiences with their peers, allowing them to better understand diverse perspectives on the quality of student work and identify strategies for enhancing classroom practices. They were also crucial for reviewing grading approaches and mechanisms for awarding badges. Teachers also stayed connected through group chats and shared resources for additional peer support. All of these efforts are key components of a coherent professional development strategy for teachers (see also this report).
Challenges to Implementation
While the math badging initiative demonstrated several positive effects, it also revealed a few implementation challenges that will need to be addressed by implementation partners in the future to ensure further scalability and sustainability.
- Time Constraints
Several teachers, especially those new to math badging, found the program overwhelming and time‑consuming due to ambiguity about steps and resource availability. They felt limited in the time they could devote to a new initiative. Some reported finding useful materials in the online portal provided by XQ, while others were unaware of it or could not recall what was available. Teachers also noted that implementing math badging requires significant initial investment, particularly if student‑centered learning is unfamiliar. - Student Resistance to Self-Directed Learning
Some students resisted self‑directed learning, struggling with independent thinking and reflection. They sometimes misunderstood the new approach to evaluation and grading, reacting negatively to portfolios that required new work products and iterative refinement. This resistance underscored the importance of explaining the transition clearly, articulating benefits to secure buy‑in, and providing scaffolding for struggling students. - Structural Barriers
Some teachers faced structural barriers. Those implementing math badging alone in their schools expressed isolation. In addition, the lack of simple technology solutions for managing portfolios made it harder to guide students and provide targeted feedback. Because badges were a new initiative in most high schools, they were generally used for classroom or school recognition rather than as formal credentials.
Strategies for Implementation Refinement
XQ is in the process of further enhancing its implementation resources and support and working with partners to build capacity that allows them to sustain implementation in the future. The organization is also offering a parallel, project-based XQ Math curriculum for Algebra I aligned to math badging and continues to work with partners to monitor and further improve local implementation practices.
There are several things that district leaders who are interested in this program can do:
- Create supportive teacher learning environments: District leaders can invest in creating school environments that value continuous learning to support teachers in collaborating and learning from one another. While teachers may not have had previous experience with student-centered learning approaches, they can develop or deepen the skills needed.
- Innovative mindset: District leaders can empower their school administrators to champion and support local innovation and experimentation for math in high school to incentivize broader adoption. For example, they can provide high-quality instructional materials for badge-aligned curricula and encourage school leaders to share successful practices within their districts or at regional, cross-district workshops.
- Rich teacher support: District leaders can work with partner organizations in scaling up their teachers’ professional development opportunities, perhaps in regional collaborative networks. For example, onboarding programs can be extended to multiple days, be offered both online and in-person, and be supported by optional weekly virtual coaching sessions. Teachers can also be guided to engage in structured classroom observations during school visits with neighboring schools and reflect on best practices.
- Stakeholder buy-in: District and school leaders can build partnerships with various interest holders in their local community. For example, schools can organize community math nights to involve local employers who seek to extend partnerships with career and technical education programs to extend the badge value beyond classrooms. It is also crucial to engage parents by organizing orientation sessions to better understand their concerns about math learning and develop buy-in for this new way of learning and recognizing learning.