California’s New K-2 Math Test Won’t Label Kids. Here’s What Scores Miss.

What does California’s new math law do?

California’s Senate Bill 1067 is now law. Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson of San Diego wrote it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. State records date it September 27, 2026. It covers every child in kindergarten, first grade and second grade.

Once a year, schools will check basic math skills. That means counting, understanding amounts and naming numbers. The state will publish a list of approved tests, with options for English learners. Districts pick from that list. Testing must start no later than the 2028-29 school year.

The reason is low scores. Last year, 37% of California students were proficient in math. In 2019, before the pandemic, it was 40%. Marshall Tuck leads EdVoice, the group that sponsored the bill. He told CalMatters:

“This bill will help more kids so they don’t get stuck at the starting line in math.”

Not everyone agreed. The California Teachers Association opposed the screener. It said young children should not face standardized tests. The law also brings no new money, so tutoring costs fall on districts.

What does a low math score tell you?

Start with what the law gets right. It bars using results for high-stakes choices. One of those is marking a child as “an individual with exceptional needs.” The law also says the check is not a tool to decide special education. A school is free to use a result to suggest a closer look.

That is a real protection. But a law does not settle the science under it. A low score still leaves one question open. What kind of hard is this?

Researchers have tried to sort kids who find math hard into neat types. No sorting scheme in our research files has held up. Kißler and Kuhn (2025) looked for clear groups among children with and without dyscalculia. In one analysis, children who met their cutoff formed no group of their own. The authors wrote that “the boundaries are fluid.” They said every child who finds math hard should get support.

Where you draw the line matters too. Devine and colleagues (2013) tested British primary-school children. Whether more boys or girls were counted with dyscalculia hinged on the definition. The line is a choice people make. It is not a fact about your child. Dowker (2024) reviewed the field. Is dyscalculia its own thing, or the low end of normal math ability? The review says this is still unclear.

So here is the habit we push back on. It is the urge to sort every low score into two boxes. “Has a math disability” or “doesn’t.” The law bars the score from making that sort. The studies above do not back it either. We keep a plain summary of this work on our dyscalculia research page.

What should you do when a math score comes home?

Read the score as a starting point. It points to where to look. It does not tell you what your child is. Ask the school which parts were hard. Was it counting? Understanding amounts? Naming numbers? Then notice what else is going on at home. Worry counts too. Dowker (2024) calls dyscalculia and math anxiety “separate conditions.” So a child who dreads math needs that dread taken seriously on its own.

Keep the math teaching going every day. Anything you add sits alongside math instruction, not in place of it. Here is the tradeoff. A yearly check puts every child in view. But a score with no help after it changes nothing. Ask the school what support follows the check.

If the school suggests a closer look, say yes. Ask what it will cover. Only a professional evaluation gets an IEP or 504 plan. If a diagnosis ever comes, hold it the same way. A diagnosis describes where your child is today. It does not predict where they’ll be after a year of the right kind of practice. And you do not need a state test to start. Waiting has never taught a child math. Teaching does.