The Effects of Mathematics Professional Development on Elementary Student Achievement

Using a cluster randomized trial, we investigated the effects of mathematics professional development on student achievement in elementary schools. Pairs of schools were matched on prior mathematics; percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch and percentage of limited English proficient students were randomly assigned to two groups. One received professional development on mathematics that focuses on diagnosing student thinking and the other received professional development on formative assessment. Student-level achievement data (pretest and posttest performance on a standardized test of mathematics) were nested within grades and schools and analyzed using mixed-effects multi-level linear modeling. The results indicate students in schools that were provided the mathematics professional development had greater mathematics achievement than students in schools in a control condition. The effect held across grade levels.