Understanding how to measure the impact of math instruction and interventions is key to improving students’ overall math performance. This resource provides educators, school district leaders, researchers, funders, and organizations implementing programs with a curated list of ways to measure middle grades students’ math skills and knowledge, math perceptions and beliefs, and math use beyond the classroom in a valid, reliable, and accessible way. It also includes a set of criteria that can be used to assess measure quality, as well as context-specific questions to help readers determine if a specific measure is a good fit for their unique circumstances.

Mathematica and a panel of researchers in the field of math instruction and measurement originally developed the menu of measures for Bill & Melinda Gates grantees who are working to improve math outcomes for students in middle grades who are Black, Latino, and/or experiencing poverty.