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July 19, 2007Student Results Show Benefits of Math and Science Partnerships |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Students' performance on annual math and science assessments improved in almost every age group when their schools were involved in a program that partners K-12 teachers with their colleagues in higher education. While an earlier study tracked schools that began work in the first year of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Math and Science Partnership program (MSP), the most recent study followed more than 300 schools participating in partnerships that began to be funded during the program's second year. Participating school districts found that a significantly higher proportion of students scored at the "proficient" level or higher on state math and science assessments in the 2004-2005 school year than they had in 2003-2004. Established in 2002 to integrate the work of higher education with K-12 and to strengthen and reform mathematics and science education, MSP was enhanced in 2004 with the addition of teacher institutes for the 21st century. Typically teachers work intensively with higher education faculty in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines during the summer months to gain deep content knowledge, earn necessary certifications or degrees and receive mentoring from their higher education colleagues. For example, in the 2005-2006 school year, a population of students with teachers who took part in the Rice University Mathematics Leadership Institute performed better on both the Texas state mathematics assessment and the Stanford 10 mathematics assessment (a national standardized test) than students of non-institute teachers in the same grades at similar schools.
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