Parents have complained for years about changes made in the math curriculum used in public schools.

The way things are taught now often bear little resemblance to the way adults were taught, and that can make it difficult for parents to help their children. But it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic forced parents into the role of teacher that we found out just how much things have changed.

A simple average of Chautauqua County proficiency rates shows an increase in English language arts proficiency from 39.6% in 2018-19 to 40.83% in 2021-22. Math proficiency decreased from 44.67% to 34%, a decrease of 10.67%. Only one district — Chautauqua Lake — eked out an increase in math proficiency during the pandemic. As Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent, noted in a recent interview with The Post-Journal, reading is something many families are able to work on effectively with students outside of school while math is much more difficult for parents and guardians to be able to help students with outside of school.

“There’s a memory and experience gap I think that exists with anybody, whether that’s me working with my own kids or anybody working with their kids,” he said.

Why does that need to be so? Most schools beg for parental involvement in a child’s education. But it turns out parental involvement is being limited by the way the state and, by extension, schools have chosen to teach, particularly when it comes to math.

The struggles parents had helping children learn these new ways of teaching math magnify the importance of trained teachers who can get children to understand a curriculum that, to many adults, is a muddled mess. God bless teachers who deal with 1,000 different challenges a day in addition to trying to educate.

These results also make one think about future changes in instruction — because we know the geniuses at the state Education Department and state Board of Regents just can’t leave things alone. One thing they should keep in mind with their endless tinkering and meddling is the role they want parents to play in education. More changes in line with the ones that have been made in math instruction will just push more parents to the sideline — which is the opposite of what should be happening.