This page describes the iterative development of the Adapted Measure of Math Engagement (AM-ME) and the survey methodology used to collect student responses for each iteration. From 2023 to 2025, three iterative versions of the AM-ME were administered to students in grades 6-12 (between 2,016 and 2,727 students per year). The three versions were developed through our continuous improvement process of measure development, which occurred in partnership with students and practitioners. Using this process helps to ensure measures are contextually relevant, aligned with student and practitioner experiences, and have sufficient reliability and validity for their intended use.
Check out activities developed for implement
Activities used to collect quantitative data with the AM-ME Research Group can be found in the Implement Research Group Meetings.
Math and Science Engagement Scales (MSES)
The project began by administering the Math and Science Engagement Scale (MSES) to compare student and practitioner conceptualization of math engagement with traditional definitions. The MSES consists of 33 student self-report items that capture four dimensions of engagement: behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social. Items were anchored on a 1 (Strongly Agree) to 4 (Strongly Disagree) Likert scale.
Downloadable Resource
Adapted Measure of Math Engagement (2024 AM-ME)
Seventy new self-report items were generated based on student and teacher conceptualizations, initial quantitative findings, and qualitative findings and tested in the 2024 AM-ME. They were designed to capture six dimensions of engagement: visible engagement (e.g., completes work), classroom culture (e.g., teacher-student relationships), feelings (e.g., feels judged), connections to the outside world (e.g., feels math is relevant), outside the classroom (e.g., sibling support), and systemic factors (e.g., family obligations). Because responding to 74 items can be time intensive and tiresome for students, the research team used an approach called, “planned missingness” to reduce the survey length. Items were anchored on a 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree) Likert scale.
Planned Missingness
Survey fatigue occurs when a survey is too long or complex and results in the respondent not answering accurately. Planned missingness (also called efficiency design) can help reduce the length of a survey by only showing respondents a smaller, randomly selected, subset of items. For the AM-ME, we used a split-forms approach. This means that we created six different versions of the survey, each with a subset of the survey questions. Each version of the survey included all the demographic items and approximately half of the total AM-ME scale items. The versions of the survey were designed so that each pair of items appears together in exactly one version of the survey. This was necessary during the development of the scale because it allowed us to test more survey items. In future administrations of AM-ME this is likely not to be necessary because the final scale is only 34 items.
Adapted Measure of Math Engagement (2025 AM-ME)
70 new self-report items were generated based on expert input, quantitative findings from the 2024 iteration of the AM-ME, and qualitative findings. They were designed to capture 10 dimensions of engagement: classroom behavior, math mastery, effective instruction, student-teacher relationships, classroom climate, feelings toward math, math identity, math importance, community support, math resources. The research team used the same planned missingness approach to reduce the survey length and anchored the items on the same Likert scale.
Adapted Measure of Math Engagement (Final AM-ME)
Based on quantitative findings from the 2025 iteration of the AM-ME, the research team identified 33 items that captured eight dimensions: personalized math teaching, math enthusiasm, math identity, belonging in math class, math usefulness, supportive math teaching, math learning behaviors, and community resources for learning math. The research team used the same planned missingness approach to reduce the survey length and anchored the items on the same Likert scale.
Downloadable Resource
The Adapted Measure of Math Engagement Research Group includes six students (Antonio Chavira, Brianna Espy, Ryan Ombongi, Serrah Ssemukutu, Salma Ahmed, and Diamond Tony-Uduhirinwa), five teachers (Nate Earley, Karina Mazurek, Kathleen Morgan, Karla Rokke, and Ashly Tritch), and five researchers (Marisa Crowder, Samantha E. Holquist, Diane (Ta-Yang) Hsieh, Claire Kelley, and Mark Vincent B. Yu). Researchers Alyssa Scott, Olivia Reyes, and Avalloy McCarthy also extensively contributed to this work. Bloomington Public School District leaders Betsy Hawes, Marcie Coval, Julio Caesar, and Rik Lamm provided support to this work.
If you have questions about the Adapted Measures of Math Engagement project, please contact Principal Investigator Samatha E. Holquist at sholquist@childtrends.org.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation, grant #2200437. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.