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Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania

Measuring Progress Toward Goals

by John F. Pane, Valerie L. Williams, Stuart S. Olmsted, Kun Yuan, Eleanor Spindler, Mary Ellen Slaughter

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In 2003, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit received a grant under the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership program to establish the Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania (MSP). The MSP brings together regional K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and intermediate units with the goals of increasing K-12 students' knowledge of mathematics and science, improving the quality of the K-16 educator workforce, and creating sustainable partnerships among participants. To achieve these goals, the MSP has instituted a variety of activities, including leadership academies, fellowship programs, and networking opportunities, to enact three key intervention strategies: professional development for content and leadership, curriculum alignment and pedagogical and course refinement, and support for and dissemination of research-based resources and tools. As RAND's involvement with the MSP comes to an end (the MSP will continue through 2010), the findings presented here provide preliminary evidence regarding the MSP's progress. The analyses draw on five years of qualitative and quantitative MSP data, including interviews, surveys, participation records, student achievement assessments, and other sources. The findings suggest that MSP partners are making progress toward the three MSP goals, although statistical analysis did not find evidence that the MSP was directly responsible for this progress.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania

  • Chapter Three

    Evaluation Design

  • Chapter Four

    Student Achievement

  • Chapter Five

    Quality of the Educator Workforce

  • Chapter Six

    Sustainable Partnerships

  • Chapter Seven

    Conclusion

  • Appendix A

    Achievement Analysis Methods and Results

  • Appendix B

    Teacher and Principal Survey Development and Methods

  • Appendix C

    Qualitative Analysis of IHE Data

The research in this report was Prepared for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and conducted by RAND Education.

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