August 4, 2026
By Noman Khanani and Haiwen Chu
Key Takeaways
- Most states do not systematically track districts in terms of math curricula adoption and use, limiting states’ ability to connect HQIM investments to student outcomes.
- If states build this infrastructure now, they will be positioned to see how achievement shifts following adoption and to identify where gaps remain.
- WestEd is drawing on curriculum use data from multiple states to evaluate how Illustrative Mathematics has affected student test scores over time.
Useful for state education agency leaders, curriculum directors, policymakers, and researchers interested in building the evidence base around HQIM implementation
In recent years, high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) adoption for math has increased drastically across the country. EdReports ratings have made it easier to identify rigorous curricula, and states have invested substantially in supporting HQIM.
The first post in this five-part series began a discussion on what it takes to implement HQIM well. Most states, however, are not yet in position to measure whether implementation is improving student outcomes.
This second post in the series explores what states need to measure to understand how their HQIM investments are making a difference in student outcomes.
Despite the increasing prevalence of HQIM, evidence remains limited in terms of connecting implementation to student outcomes. Given known challenges in implementing HQIM well, showing whether these investments are working is critical for helping states and districts make evidence-based decisions. Aligning professional learning with HQIM is likely to maximize the impact on student outcomes.
Tracking Curriculum Adoption
Few states track the curriculum in use by schools and districts on an annual basis. To connect curriculum adoption to student outcomes, states need to know which curriculum a school or district is using and when they started using it. State assessment data can show how scores change over time, but without information about the curriculum, there’s no way to link those trends to specific instructional materials or practices.
Spotlight on Rhode Island: Public Annual Adoption
Rhode Island offers a model worth examining. In 2019, the state passed legislation requiring all districts to select and implement math and English language arts (ELA) curricula that were deemed high quality based primarily on their EdReports rating. Districts that previously were not using approved curricula were required to begin implementing one for math and ELA by 2023.
To ensure compliance with state legislation, the state conducts an annual K–12 Curriculum Survey asking every district to report which curricula they are using in math, ELA, and science—and publishes the results publicly, including EdReports quality ratings. That year-over-year record means that the state can, over time, watch how student achievement changes following adoption and ask where the curriculum is producing results and where it isn’t.
Exploring Why Implementation Is Challenging to Measure
Knowing which curriculum a district is using is only the starting point. Adoption does not equal implementation. A curriculum may be purchased and placed in teachers’ hands but taught in fragmented ways, skipped over in some grades, or delivered without the professional learning needed to use it as intended. A future post in this series will share tips on collecting detailed implementation data to pair with adoption data to provide a more complete picture of impact on outcomes. Understanding implementation in depth reveals what works for whom, why, and under what conditions.
Linking to Student Outcomes
Supported by the Gates Foundation, WestEd has been connecting curriculum use data with survey data on implementation to understand the impact of the Illustrative Math curriculum on student outcomes. Current studies have explored impacts in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and California with quasi-experimental designs aligned with What Works Clearinghouse standards, and ongoing studies will provide evidence for multiple other districts and states. These analyses matter because they offer greater nuance than national averages do to show what HQIM can accomplish in specific contexts.
The HQIM movement is generating momentum in classrooms. States that invest in tracking curriculum use can turn that momentum into evidence—seeing clearly how achievement shifts after adoption, identifying where students are still being underserved, and understanding what it actually takes for high-quality materials to deliver results.
An annual curriculum survey, consistently fielded and publicly reported, is a modest investment. The return can help provide a clear picture of whether instructional improvements are reaching students.
About the Authors
Noman Khanani is an applied quantitative methodologist specializing in experimental and quasi-experimental designs. A What Works Clearinghouse–certified reviewer, he leads impact, implementation, and descriptive studies on math and literacy programs, interventions, and policies.
Haiwen Chu is a national expert on mathematics education for English Learners. Chu’s work connects theory, research, and practice to improve learning opportunities and outcomes in mathematics in grades 6–12. Chu collaborates with education systems to build human and organizational capacity to improve policy, programs, and pedagogy for English Learners at all levels.
Helping States See What’s Working
WestEd partners with state education agencies to build the data infrastructure required to connect HQIM investment to student outcomes and subsequently conducts implementation and impact evaluations—both for states following the build-out of new infrastructure and for states that already have infrastructure in place.
Learn more about mathematics education at WestEd.
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