Gates Package — page 1121

and create a digital learning plan. In addition to receiving traditional instruction in the classroom, they use the platform to test their knowledge and assess their own performance. Letting kids take control of their learning in this way helps build confidence, curiosity, and persistence. These technologies have been in the works for a while, but progress was accelerated when demand skyrocketed during the pandemic. In the years ahead, the Gates Foundation will will invest heavily in these tools and measure what works. Some of the biggest leaps forward have been in math curricula--especially algebra. Algebra I is a key milestone on the road to graduation, but it has the highest failure rate of any high school course.4 Students who don't pass have just a one-in-five chance of graduating from high school. This is a statistic that particularly affects students who are Black, Latino, English language learners, or experiencing poverty, putting them at a disadvantage for future careers and higher earnings. Kids who struggle with algebra often develop a self-image of not being good at math that haunts them through the rest of their time in school. They get frustrated by problem sets that are perhaps too hard for their current skill level and never catch up as classes become more advanced. A company called Zearn is working on a new math curriculum for grade school students that helps them shore up concepts that are key to more advanced math, like fractions and the order of operations. They provide teaching materials to help educators create lesson plans, and they've created digital lessons and assignments that make doing homework more fun. I'm hopeful that tools like this will help more students succeed in school while also easing the burden on teachers. Unlike the way things were at the height of the pandemic--when remote learning meant that teachers had to juggle more work than normal--software will eventually free up more time for them to focus on where they add the most value.