“What Works Best in Science and Mathematics Education Reform” is posted by the Potomac Communications Group.
A new report examines the performance of eight relatively large districts that attempted to improve the performance of their students in mathematics and science with the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Districts that increased academic demands in those subjects found that students were capable of meeting the challenges, and that students benefited from a heavy dose of science in elementary school, it says. The report looks at the results of the NSF-funded Urban Systemic Program, which focused on minority students. The districts studied are Brownsville, Texas; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Cleveland; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Los Angeles; Miami; and San Diego. The program ran from 1994 to 2003.
The 36-page report was written by the Potomac Communications Group in Washington, a public relations firm that worked with a grant from the NSF.