Mathematics Teacher and Curriculum Quality, 2005 and 2016

Abstract

Efforts to improve teachers’ knowledge and to change the nature of curriculum materials have dominated mathematics reforms since the late 1990s. In this article, we compared middle school teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and curriculum use between 2005 and 2016 to assess progress toward these key goals. We found teachers’ MKT increased an amount equal to the average teacher in the 2005 sample improving five percentile points. However, No Child Left Behind’s attempts to encourage mathematics degrees in this population do not explain this increase, as teachers were less likely in 2016 than in 2005 to possess such a degree. Instead, our data are consistent with schools hiring more knowledgeable individuals during the Great Recession. Between surveys, the strength of the association between teacher MKT and student demographic characteristics decreased, although equity gaps still persist. Finally, our data suggest a modest movement toward standards-based curriculum materials over this period.