From the outside, Lei and Shannon’s math team in Maui looked like they had it figured out.

Their professional learning was focused. Their priorities were clear. They weren’t chasing every new initiative that came along. Teachers were engaging students in rich mathematical conversations through Number Talks, and there was a shared belief that fluency and discourse mattered.

But underneath that clarity, Lei and Shannon were wrestling with a problem many district leaders quietly face:

Some classrooms were thriving. Others were still finding their footing. And no one could confidently answer the question that mattered most:

Is this actually working—or are we just really busy?

That question wasn’t about effort. It was about impact.
And it came with two deeper concerns:

• How do we measure growth in both student learning and teacher implementation—without reducing the work to compliance or test scores?
• And how do we make sure this work doesn’t fall apart if one or two key people step away?

Instead of resetting the initiative or piling on more training, Lei and Shannon slowed down and made a different move.

They got clear on what progress actually looks like.

Shifting the Question: “What Does This Look Like When It’s Working?”

Most systems check whether teachers are doing a strategy.

Lei and Shannon realized that wasn’t enough.

They didn’t want to know if Number Talks were happening—they wanted to understand how teaching practice develops over time. They knew from research, including Jim Knight’s work, that instructional practices don’t improve all at once. Teachers move through predictable stages: early attempts feel awkward, practice becomes more fluid, and eventually educators adapt and innovate based on student thinking.

What they didn’t have was a way to see those stages in real classrooms.

So instead of adding more professional development, they clarified the path.

They identified the key instructional moves that mattered most and organized them into a continuum that made teacher growth visible and measurable.

Not as a judgment tool—but as a map.

Making Progress Visible Through Clear Key Results

The rubric they created functioned as a set of key results—short-term, observable milestones that showed whether the system was moving in the right direction.

Think of it like a football drive. You don’t need a touchdown on every play. You need completed downs that move you closer to the goal line.

• Beginning practice focused on the essentials: establishing a safe space, giving students wait time, and resisting the urge to jump in with answers or corrections.
• Emerging practice emphasized pacing, drawing out thinking from all students, and accurately recording mathematical ideas.
• Integrating practice centered on precision, effective representations, and making connections between strategies.
• Innovating practice shifted the ownership to students—who questioned, paraphrased, compared strategies, and built on one another’s thinking.

This was about making the path to high-quality instruction visible and attainable.

Normalizing the Messy Middle of Implementation

The most dangerous moment in any instructional initiative isn’t the beginning.

It’s the middle.

That’s when results look inconsistent, teachers are productively struggling, and leaders start wondering whether they chose the wrong focus.

By naming the stages of implementation, Lei and Shannon did something powerful: they normalized inconsistency as part of growth.

Clunky lessons stopped being seen as resistance.
Uneven outcomes stopped being treated as failure.

Coaching conversations shifted from:

“What’s going wrong?”

to:

“Where are you in the process—and what support fits this stage?”

That shift alone protected the work from being abandoned too early—a fate many promising initiatives never escape.

Reducing Fragility: Designing a Math System That Didn’t Depend on Individuals

The rubric didn’t just support teachers.
It changed how adults across the system worked together.

• Math Coaches used it to give targeted, stage-appropriate feedback.
• Principals used it to recognize quality math discourse in action.
• District leaders used it to learn from classrooms where the work was taking hold—without turning them into showcase performances.

Most importantly, the work stopped living in Lei and Shannon’s heads.

The system could see for itself.

That mattered—because leadership turnover and competing initiatives weren’t hypothetical risks. They were real.

Instead of fighting those realities, Lei and Shannon designed around them.

Measuring Impact Without Losing the Humanity

The rubric was just one piece of a broader measurement approach that included walkthrough notes, quick check-ins, and structured reflection. Together, they helped leaders answer a more meaningful question:

Is our system supporting math growth where it counts—and are we staying with educators through the messy middle instead of abandoning them when it gets uncomfortable?

Not test scores alone.
Not one-time observations.

But the day-to-day instructional moves that compound over time.

That kind of evidence supports real decision-making—whether to deepen the work, slow the pace, or adjust how people are supported—without breaking trust.

What Sustainable Math Improvement Actually Looks Like

Lei and Shannon didn’t make this work by trying harder.
They didn’t succeed because they found a magic strategy.

They succeeded because they resisted the urge to rush.

They clarified their vision.
They defined progress in achievable increments.
They stayed through the uncomfortable middle.
And they built tools that allowed the system—not just a few people—to carry the work forward.

That’s what sustainable math improvement looks like.Not flashy.
Not fast.
But intentional, disciplined, and deeply focused on people.

Want to Learn More?

At Make Math Moments, we help districts build and implement systems for sustainable improvement through our Math Improvement Flywheel—a four-stage process that supports leaders in designing vision, aligning systems, building capacity, and inspiring growth.

If your district is ready to move beyond short-term fixes and create bridges in mathematics learning, we’d love to partner with you.👉 Learn more about the District Improvement Program.