MSP News: MSP National Impact Report
April 8, 2010
NEWS IN BRIEF
1. NEW FROM NSF
"National Impact Report: Math and Science Partnership Program," National Science Foundation, April 2010.
The National Science Foundation has released its second national impact report for the NSF Math and Science Partnership program.
2. NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "The Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the First Year of Implementation," National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance,Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, April 2010.
B. "Stuck Schools: A framework for identifying schools where students need change - now!," Natasha Ushomirsky and Daria Hall, The Education Trust, March 2010.
C. "Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools," Daria Hall and Natasha Ushomirsky, The Education Trust, April 2010.
DETAILS BELOW
NEW FROM NSF
"National Impact Report: Math and Science Partnership Program," National Science Foundation, April 2010.
"The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released its second national impact report for the NSF Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program, which was established in 2002 to integrate the work of higher education with K-12 to strengthen and reform mathematics and science education.
The document identifies progress on improving teacher quality, quantity and diversity; developing challenging courses and curricula; emphasizing evidence-based design and outcomes; and promoting institutional change. The report highlights examples of partnerships at all levels of education in communities across the country, and includes examples of positive impacts for students and benefits of professional development for teachers."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>MSP Papers
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20607
NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "The Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study: Findings After the First Year of Implementation," National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance,Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, April 2010.
"Results after one year of providing teachers math professional development (PD) indicate no improvement on their students' math achievement when compared to teachers who did not receive the study-provided PD. The study included 77 schools in 12 districts in 2007-2008. The PD, although purposely designed to be relevant to the curricula that teachers were using in their classrooms, focused primarily on developing teachers' capability to teach positive rational number topics effectively. America's Choice and Pearson Achievement Solutions were the two professional development providers, each operating in half the districts. Teachers who taught the core 7th grade mathematics class in the study schools were assigned by lottery to either receive the professional development or not. Teachers in all of the study schools continued to be eligible for district-provided PD.
Other key findings include:
* Professional development for the teachers produced no statistically significant impact on their students' achievement in the areas covered by the training --ratio, proportion, fractions, percentages, decimals.
* The training did have a statistically significant impact on one of three measures of teacher practice -- "frequency with which teachers engaged in activities that elicited student thinking."
* The training did not have a statistically significant impact on measured teacher knowledge.
* The study's program was implemented as intended and on average resulted in an additional 55 hours of math professional development during the 2007-08 school year.
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Professional Development
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20602
B. "Stuck Schools: A framework for identifying schools where students need change - now!," Natasha Ushomirsky and Daria Hall, The Education Trust, March 2010.
"Schools often lumped together as "low performing" are not all alike. Some low-performing schools remain "stuck" year after year, while others that started as low performers are among the fastest improvers in their states. Tracking proficiency rates and improvement over time can help policymakers focus scarce resources on the neediest schools."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20604
C. "Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools," Daria Hall and Natasha Ushomirsky, The Education Trust, April 2010.
"Many states have made progress in closing the funding gaps between affluent school districts and those serving the highest concentrations of low-income children. But a hidden funding gap between high-poverty and low-poverty schools persists between schools within the same district. District budgeting policies frequently favor schools with the fewest low-income students. This undercuts the aim of Title I and robs poor children of funds intended to help them."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20605