We applied QuantCrit to analyze middle and high school students’ responses ( N = 184) from a 2021 survey. We used descriptive statistics to understand the extent that math teachers used ambitious and anti-racist teaching. Using CritSEM , we investigated how these teaching practices translated into students’ engagement and self-efficacy, and into students’ participation in sociopolitical and community-based actions. Our findings suggest (a) teachers rarely used anti-racist teaching, even though students were ready to make social changes; (b) students reported high levels of ambitious teaching; and (c) anti-racist teaching, alongside ambitious teaching, creates efficacious math experiences. We provide implications for research, policy, and practice.
Bell et al. (2026) studied this question.