Identify key features of disciplinary literacy in mathematics.

• A. Reading and interpreting math text and problems, extracting a problem’s structure, explaining reasoning, and using representations and precise terminology.
• B. Math is learned purely through calculation with no reading.
• C. Textual interpretation is unnecessary.
• D. Students memorize formulas without explaining.

Answer: (A)

Disciplinary literacy in mathematics means reading and interpreting math problems and texts, identifying what the problem is asking, and understanding how the ideas connect to reasoning and representations. It involves unpacking the problem’s structure—what is given, what needs to be found, and the relationships between quantities—and choosing appropriate representations (like equations, graphs, or diagrams) to reason about it. It also requires expressing the reasoning with precise mathematical language and justifying each step.

The best option captures all of these elements: reading and interpreting math text, extracting the problem’s structure, explaining reasoning, and using representations and precise terminology. The other statements limit math to calculation, claim textual interpretation isn’t needed, or emphasize memorization without explanation, which omit the essential communication and reasoning aspects of mathematical understanding.