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New Free Math Curriculum "ANDE" Launches to Support California Adult Educators

Posted on 05/19/2026

As California’s adult education programs continue to seek high-quality, accessible instructional materials, a new resource is making waves in classrooms across the state. Adult Numeracy in the Digital Era (ANDE), an Open Educational Resource (OER) developed by WestEd in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and World Education.

ANDE is a sequence of four mini-courses available via Google Docs, integrating essential numeracy with digital literacy.

Bridging the Literacy and Numeracy Gap

What sets ANDE apart is its commitment to moving away from rote memorization in favor of a rich, contextualized curriculum. The materials are grounded in authentic scenarios drawn from personal, workplace, and civic contexts, making math relevant to adults' daily lives. This approach is particularly effective for:

• ABE/HSE Classrooms: Students can build solid foundational skills in "Basecamp"; rates, percentages, and scales in “Ascent”; Alegebra foundations in “Ridgeline”; and geometry in “Summit”
• ESL/ELL Integration: Preliminary findings show that ANDE is particularly effective for students at English as a Foreign Language (EFL) levels 2 and 3. The program uses discussion-based routines and instructional routines to build confidence and help learners explain their mathematical thinking.

Evidence-Based Success

Recent research has shown that adult learners using ANDE scored statistically higher on assessments of number systems and ratios/proportions compared to those in traditional math classes. The curriculum fosters a collaborative classroom culture where instructors facilitate whole-class discussions and small-group learning.

How to Get Free Access

In the spirit of Open Educational Resources, ANDE materials are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, meaning California educators can freely use, adapt, and share the materials for non-commercial purposes.

1. Explore the Mini-Courses: Visit the ANDE Mini-courses page to dive into the contextualized units.
2. Access Resources: View and download Student Preparation Packs and Instructor Handbooks directly through the portal (as Google Docs)
3. Create a Free Account: Educators can sign up to access full materials and stay updated on the release of additional courses.
4. Professional Development: Organizations can also explore training options to gain the pedagogical skills needed to implement ANDE's discussion-based routines effectively.

For California adult educators looking to refresh their curriculum with research-based, flexible, and free tools, ANDE offers a great resource for students in a digital world.

Want to learn more?

Supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES): Grant Information; Create Adult Skills Network