Meta-Analysis for Math Teachers’ Professional Development and Students’ Achievement

Background: Recent research emphasizes the need to synthesize empirical studies on “K–12” math teachers’ professional development (PD) programs and their impact on student learning. Objective: This meta-analysis examines how teachers’ participation in PD programs affects students’ math achievement, analyzing the influence of program characteristics, such as duration, PD teaching approach, modality, grade level, type of math content, PD category, and study design. Design: Using online databases, 30 randomized or quasi-experimental studies from the U.S. and Canada (2003–2021) were selected, yielding 164 independent effect sizes, as some studies reported multiple interventions. Results: Only 1% of publications met the inclusion criteria. Most were excluded due to duplication, geographic location, lack of K–12 focus, missing data, or non-empirical content. PD was most effective when programs were under a year, focused on geometry, combined content and pedagogy, targeted grades 6–8, used online video, were reform-initiated, and employed randomized designs. Modality did not significantly impact outcomes. Conclusions: While extensive research exists on PD best practices, few studies empirically link program features to student achievement. This study offers evidence that well-designed math PD can significantly improve student outcomes, providing actionable insights for educators and policymakers.