Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the First Year of Implementation

This report presents interim results from the Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study, which is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The report presents results immediately following 1 year of the study’s professional development. A future report will present results following 2 years of professional development.

The Middle School Mathematics PD Impact Study is the first rigorous test of the impact of a PD program focused on teachers of middle school mathematics. Within 12 participating school districts, the study randomly assigned 77 mid- and high-poverty schools to treatment and control conditions and collected outcome data on teachers and students. The PD was delivered by two provider organizations, each of which served the treatment schools in six of the 12 participating districts. Seventh-grade teachers in the treatment schools had the opportunity to receive the PD program offered by the study and could also continue to participate in the PD activities that they would have received in the absence of the study. Seventh-grade teachers in the control schools received only the PD that they would have received in the absence of the study.