LINCOLN - The first draft of new math standards for Nebraska schools is a tweak, not an overhaul, of existing ones, according to state education officials.

The draft would put greater emphasis on number sense, data, and statistics, but don't expect sweeping changes, they said. The standards are instead a refinement of the 2015 set they would replace.

“We didn’t want a dramatic shift,” said Matt Blomstedt, the state’s education commissioner.

State law requires the Nebraska State Board of Education to adopt standards every seven years in core areas, including math. Local districts must either adopt the state standards or their own of at least equal rigor within a year after adoption.

Blomstedt said the state has encouraged districts to adopt high-quality instructional materials aligned with state standards.

“We see more improvements where people use the adoption of those instructional materials in alignment with our standards," he said.

A national math test, the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, provides insight on how Nebraska kids measured up to peers in other states before COVID-19.

Forty-five percent of Nebraska fourth-graders scored proficient or above on the test compared to 40% nationwide.

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