# Middle School Mathematics Teachers and Teaching Survey **Project Status:** Past **Focus Area:** [Teacher Effectiveness](/view-by-focus-area/teacher-effectiveness) **Location:** National **Timeline:** December 2015-June 2017 **Principal Investigators:** [Heather Hill](/people/heather-hill), [Barb Gilbert](/people/barb-gilbert) (Co-PI), [Dan McGinn](/people/dan-mcginn) (Co-PI) ***What is the current state of mathematics education in the United States?*** We suspect that mathematics teaching has changed tremendously in the last two decades, as new teaching methods, technologies and curriculum materials have appeared in classrooms. This study has been designed to understand the consequences of these changes for instruction. In 2015-16, a first cohort of teachers participated in the survey and video components for the study. In 2016-17, a random sample of 200 U.S. middle-school mathematics teachers will video-record their classroom instruction. **By comparing current and past samples of middle-school teachers and teaching, we can describe current teaching practice and understand what has changed over time.** We believe the work of this study will demonstrate that teacher and teaching quality in the United States can be effectively monitored, similar to other national indicators such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), today and into the future. Partners People Resources News ## Partners ### Education Agencies Middle school mathematics teachers from 406 U.S. school districts will participate in the study. Districts comprise a nationally representative sample. ### Research Partner University of Michigan ### Funder National Science Foundation ## People [### Heather C. Hill ](/people/heather-hill) [heather\_hill@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:heather_hill@gse.harvard.edu)Principal Investigator, MQI Coaching PIER FELLOWSHIP FACULTY MENTOR Hazen-Nicoli Professorship in Teacher Learning and Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education Heather Hill studies policies and programs designed to improve teacher and teaching quality. Her recent research focuses on teacher professional development; instructional coaching; teacher evaluation; changes over time in teachers’ mathematical knowledge... ![Heather Hill](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/heather%20hill.png?itok=j4aVaHG9) ## Resources [Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI)](/mqi "Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) Coaching") ## News [### Hill to Conduct NSF Teaching Study ](/news/test-news) October 27, 2014 The launch of the Mathematics Teachers and Teaching Survey (MTTS) is featured in the HGSE news. In January 2015, Professor Heather Hill will launch her newest study, the Mathematics Teachers and Teaching Survey, focusing on middle school mathematics... ## Featured Resources [](/file_url/1037) ![mtts-early-findings-09222016_page_1.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum9881/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/cepr/files/mtts-early-findings-09222016_page_1.jpg?itok=bjvaCsOo) - [Early Findings for Cohort 1](/file_url/1037) - [Measuring with the MQI Rubric](http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=mqi_training&pageid=icb.page394700) - [About the MQI Coaching Cycle](http://mqicoaching.cepr.harvard.edu/coaching-cycle) ## Video-based Observation Access to new technologies has changed the way that we think about classroom observations. We are actively exploring how video-based classroom observations can provide key insights into teachers' practice. Learn more about this work: [www.MQIprojects.org](http://www.mqiprojects.org/) ## You may also like - [Developing Common Core Classrooms Through Rubric-Based Coaching](/developing-common-core-classrooms-through-rubric-based-coaching) - [National Center for Teacher Effectiveness](/ncte) See also:- [ Teacher Effectiveness ](/focus-areas/teacher-effectiveness) - [ Project ](/page-type/project) - [ Middle School Mathematics Teachers and Teaching Survey ](/project-name/middle-school-mathematics-teachers-and-teaching-survey) - [ Past ](/project-status/past)