What is functional math?

The concept of “functional” math is often used to describe an alternative curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities or math goals that diverge from the grade-level standards. However, there is no clear definition of “functional math.”

Students with intellectual disabilities who struggle with math even at a basic level, such as counting to 20, are diverted to a curriculum of math concepts that might come up in their adult lives. This, of course, assumes that their adult life will not include college or any workplace that will require secondary school math. It assumes they will not be earning enough money to worry about compound interest. They are assumed to be devoid of interest in civics, which might require a basic understanding of statistics. It assumes that they need to understand how to tell time using a clock so they know what time to start work, finish work, and go to bed. It assumes that they’ll need to recognize coins because they will exist in a cash economy earning pennies on the dollar. This is a math curriculum designed for adults whose futures are being limited for them, but we want (and need) our education system to dream bigger for our kids.

Instead, we can assume that our children might grow into adults who will use apps to take rides, apps that are funded by a bank account filled by wage they earn at a job they find purposeful and enjoy, within a diverse community, or funded by benefits they can independently manage, and rides that take them to fun places in their diverse community, such as museums and concerts, and to a home of their own, with people of their choosing, who make their own food. What kind of math will our children need to live in this adult life that we envision for them? They will need the ability to make sense of numbers; solve problems like tipping, paying rent, and checking their pay stub; and communicate their solutions and collaborate effectively with others to get help. For some these skills will be in a context of interdependence, utilizing significant support, but we still want the student to have a functional understanding of what is happening so they can have ownership of the process.

For more information about helping our kids' education grow beyond functional math, see our full article Making Math Work for Kids with Disabilities.