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Eric.ed.gov – “Educate to Innovate”: How the Obama Plan for STEM Education Falls Short. Backgrounder. No. 2504

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: President Obama’s Educate to Innovate initiative has provided billions in additional federal funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs across the country. The Administration’s recognition of the importance of STEM education– for global competitiveness as well as for national security–is good and important. But the past 50 years suggest that federal initiatives are unlikely to solve the fundamental problem of American underperformance in STEM education. Heritage Foundation education and national security analysts explain that, though Educate to Innovate is intended to raise the U.S. “from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math,” the federal program’s one-size-fits-all approach fails to remedy the underlying problems of academic performance and does not plug the leaky pipeline in the American education system. (Contains… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Role of the National Science Foundation in K-12 Science and Math Education. Hearing before the Committee on Science, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session (May 3, 2006). Serial Number 109-46

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this hearing was to review the effectiveness and value of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) past and present programs in support of improvement of K-12 science and math education and to examine what role the Foundation should play in future federal initiatives for strengthening K-12 science and math education. This hearing follows up on the March 30 Science Committee hearing entitled, “K-12 Science and Math Education Across the Federal Agencies,” which featured Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, NSF Director Arden Bement, and representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Energy. The officials outlined their individual agencies’ activities to improve K-12 science and math education and described interagency coordination efforts. The charter for that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – School Turnaround in North Carolina: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis. Working Paper 156

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper examines the effect of school turnaround in North Carolina elementary and middle schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that turnaround led to a drop in average school-level math and reading passing rates and an increased concentration of low-income students in treated schools. We use teacher survey data to examine how teacher activities changed. Treated schools brought in new principals and increased the time teachers devoted to professional development. The program also increased administrative burdens and distracted teachers, potentially reducing time available for instruction. Teacher turnover increased after the first full year of implementation. Overall, we find little success for North Carolina’s efforts to turn around low performing schools under its federally funded Race to the Top grant. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The report, “The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers”, describes the history of the Ready to Teach Program and its role as one of the solutions to the national need to increase the performance of teachers through professional development. The report describes selected findings from the Eisenhower Professional Development Program and through it, the evolution of findings on effective professional development for teachers. These major efforts to improve teacher professional development by the U.S. Department of Education were supplemented by smaller efforts like the optional use of up to 10% of Title I monies for professional development, as determined by the principal of a Title I school or by the District, depending on the State Plan at that time.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Perceptions of High School Students Underachievement in Science

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Low high school graduation rates continue to be a challenge in American public education. The pressure to meet the demands of adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left behind Act of 2001 has led to an achievement gap in student performance between science and other core subjects, namely English, math, and social studies, on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT). GHSGT statistics have consistently reflected a lower science pass percentage compared with other core subjects on the test. The objective of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to analyze teacher perceptions on reasons for student science underachievement on the GHSGT. A self-developed questionnaire based on Bloom’s taxonomy model was administered to 115 high school core subject teachers of a single school district. Analyses of variance… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alabama’s Education Report Card 2010-11

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Public education in Alabama is moving in the right direction and is poised to be a national model for the college and career readiness of its students. Through some of the most challenging financial circumstances, public education in Alabama has continued to show great promise in many areas, including reading, math, and science. The success of Alabama education initiatives is lauded in national publications, research studies, and, most importantly, by the teachers and students in their classrooms. Although the momentum for increased educational quality has picked up, now more than ever students must be kept on track to become the most highly prepared high school graduates the state has ever produced. From classroom teachers, schools administrators, and parents, to community and business leaders, all facets of the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Math Education Practices for Students with Disabilities and Other Struggling Learners: Case Studies of Six Schools in Two Northeast and Islands Region States. Issues & Answers. REL 2008-No. 053

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires states to ensure that all students make adequate yearly progress in achieving proficiency in English language arts and math. This study examines how six diverse schools have responded to the challenge of educating their students in math, particularly students with disabilities and other struggling learners. The report intends to help educators by providing examples and ideas to consider for their own school or district efforts to improve math teaching and learning. This report describes in-depth practices at six schools (3 in Massachusetts and 3 in New York) that are making targeted efforts to improve math education for students with disabilities and other struggling learners. It examines each school’s practices for improving the math learning of all students… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. NCEE 2009-4053. Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of first grade in 39 schools participating in the evaluation during the 2006-2007 school year, with the goal of determining the relative effects of different early elementary math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. The report also examines whether curriculum effects differ for student subgroups in different instructional settings. A competitive process was used to select four curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics) that represent… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. NCEE 2009-4052

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of first grade in 39 schools participating in the evaluation during the 2006-2007 school year, with the goal of determining the relative effects of different early elementary math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. The report also examines whether curriculum effects differ for student subgroups in different instructional settings. A competitive process was used to select four curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics) that represent… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Changing the Developmental Trajectory in Early Math through a Two-Year Preschool Math Intervention

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: There is a national need for effective interventions to improve school readiness and subsequent achievement in mathematics for students from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a 2-year preschool math intervention that began at preschool entry when children were 3 years of age and continued through the end of the pre-kindergarten (pre-K) year. Three principal objectives will be addressed in this presentation: (1) to evaluate the efficacy of a math curriculum for 3-year-olds implemented in the pre-pre-kindergarten (pre-pre-K) year of preschool; (2) to compare the impact of a 2-year math intervention (implemented during pre-pre-K and pre-K years) with a 1-year math intervention (PK) or a business-as-usual control condition on children’s mathematical knowledge at the end of preschool; and (3) to examine… Continue Reading