Measuring What Matters - Considerations for Measuring the Implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials in Mathematics

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang

High-quality instructional materials (HQIM)—a standards-aligned core curriculum and publisher-developed resources—are increasingly central to district efforts to strengthen mathematics instruction. Despite broad national emphasis on adopting HQIM, the field still lacks shared, public information on how different publishers’ materials are designed to support teaching and learning. This report examines how HQIM are implemented in classrooms and experienced by students, highlighting measurement challenges and outlining a 2024–2027 nationwide study.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages35

Reading Time1 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Purpose and Research Questions

Framing

How We Understand Instructional Materials

Implementation Fidelity

Methodological Approach

Curriculum Review and Interviews With Curriculum Developers

Curriculum Review

Interviews With Curriculum Developers

Data Collection With District Leaders

Interviews and Meetings With District Administrators

Professional Learning Questionnaire

Site Administrator Focus Groups

Teacher Surveys

Curriculum Dosage

Adherence

Instructional Quality

Professional Learning Support

Student Surveys

Mathematical Experiences

Sense of Belonging and Self-Efficacy

Teacher Focus Groups

Conclusions and Next Steps

References

Measuring What Matters Considerations for Measuring the Implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials in Mathematics Rebecca Perry, Drew Nucci, Kirk Walters, David McKinney, Sarah Nielsen, and Maggie Hannan February 2026 © 2026 WestEd. All rights reserved. Suggested citation: Perry, R. , Nucci, D. , Walters, K. , McKinney, D. , Nielsen, S. , & Hannan, M. (2026) . Measuring what matters: Considerations for measuring the implementation of high-quality instructional materials in mathematics. WestEd. WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to improve the lives of children and adults at all ages of learning and development. We do this by addressing challenges in education and human development, increasing opportunity, and helping build communities where all can thrive. WestEd staff conduct and apply research, provide technical assistance, and support professional learning. We work with early learning educators, classroom teachers, local and state leaders, and policymakers at all levels of government. For more information, [visit](visit WestEd.org. For)[ ](visit WestEd.org. For)[WestEd.org](visit WestEd.org. For)[. For](visit WestEd.org. For) regular updates on research, free resources, solutions, and job postings from WestEd, subscribe to the E-Bulletin, our semimonthly e-newsletter, at [WestEd.org/subscribe](WestEd.org/subscribe). Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Purpose and Research Questions 5 Framing 6 How We Understand Instructional Materials 6 Implementation Fidelity 8 Methodological Approach 10 Curriculum Review and Interviews With Curriculum Developers 10 Curriculum Review 11 Interviews With Curriculum Developers 12 Data Collection With District Leaders 13 Interviews and Meetings With District Administrators 13 Professional Learning Questionnaire 14 Site Administrator Focus Groups 14 Teacher Surveys 15 Curriculum Dosage 17 Adherence 17 Instructional Quality 18 Professional Learning Support 19 Student Surveys 20 Mathematical Experiences 20 Sense of Belonging and Self-Efficacy 20 Teacher Focus Groups 21 Conclusions and Next Steps 21 References 23 Executive Summary High-quality instructional materials (HQIM)—a standards-aligned core curriculum and the publisherdeveloped resources designed to support teachers’ use of the curriculum—are increasingly central to district efforts to improve mathematics instruction. Despite a national emphasis on HQIM adoption, the field still lacks common, public-facing information about how HQIM from different publishers are designed to support teaching and learning. Because curriculum development is often proprietary, a lack of access complicates the ability of researchers, educators, and policymakers to differentiate between programs in meaningful ways. As such, much remains unknown about how HQIM are implemented in classrooms and experienced by students. For example, many mathematics materials might prioritize procedural fluency grounded in conceptual understanding, but individual materials might differ significantly from each other in terms of their embedded features and in what they emphasize when implemented with fidelity. These differences create measurement challenges for research on HQIM implementation and impact. In this report, a WestEd research team raises these measurement challenges, and we describe how we are attempting to address them in a nationwide study of HQIM implementation and impact being conducted from 2024 through 2027. This report is the first in a series of reports to be developed from this study. Subsequent reports produced from this study will be grounded in the methodological approaches described herein. As we continue this research—further gathering, reviewing, summarizing, and sharing the collected data—we will also refine our methods to better capture implementation processes that are inherently dynamic and context dependent. We hope that p

FAQs

What does the report define as high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) in mathematics?

HQIM are standards-aligned core curricula and publisher-developed resources designed to support teachers’ use of the curriculum. They are closely aligned to educational standards and include evidence-based teaching methods, with supports promoting equity and inclusion.

Why is measuring HQIM implementation difficult across different publishers?

Because curriculum development is often proprietary, and public information about embedded features and emphasized aspects may be limited. As a result, differences in instructional priorities and features create measurement challenges for research on HQIM implementation and impact.

What study scope and timeline does the report describe?

The report describes a nationwide study of HQIM implementation and impact conducted from 2024 through 2027. This report is identified as the first in a series, with later reports grounded in the methods described here.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bintang