Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania

Year Three Evaluation Report

by Valerie L. Williams, John F. Pane, Cynthia A. Tananis, Stuart S. Olmsted, Cara Ciminillo

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In 2002, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the Math and Science Partnership program, which builds on the nations dedication to educational reform by supporting partnerships that unite the efforts of K-12 school districts with science, mathematics, engineering, and education faculties of colleges and universities. RAND evaluated the Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania, one of seven comprehensive partnership projects funded by NSF in 2003. The evaluation investigates the effectiveness of the partnership, its impact on institutional practices and policies at partner educational institutions, changes in math and science instruction, and changes in student course taking and outcomes. Data were collected from focus groups and interviews of key project personnel, surveys of principals and math and science teachers, case studies in partnership school districts, documentation of partnership meetings and activities, artifacts produced by the partnership, math and science achievement data for K-12 students, and course completion data for K-12 and students in institutions of higher education. This working paper provides a baseline description of the partners and a formative assessment of the projects progress and challenges.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Overview of the Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania

  • Chapter Three

    Implementation Strategies and Activities through Year Three

  • Chapter Four

    Institutional Practices and Support Structures

  • Chapter Five

    Math and Science Instructional Practices

  • Chapter Six

    Student Outcomes and Course-Taking

  • Chapter Seven

    Conclusions and Issues for Consideration

  • Appendix A

    Case Studies

  • Appendix B

    Teacher Survey

  • Appendix C

    Principal Survey

  • Appendix D

    Factor Analysis of Principal and Teacher Survey Data

  • Appendix E

    MSP Event Observation

  • Appendix F

    Analysis of Student Achievement Data

The study was conducted by RAND Education, a unit of the RAND Corporation, under a contract with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

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