School & District Management Report Roundup

STEM Schools

By Jaclyn Zubrzycki — September 29, 2015 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A new report suggests that efforts to create STEM programs for low-income and minority students in Buffalo, N.Y., and three Denver-area school districts failed to live up to their ambition and promise.

Schools that planned to expand access to strong math, science, engineering, and technology courses wound up reducing offerings and cutting entire programs within three years. That’s despite financial investments and enthusiasm from school district leaders and the community, the report says. At the same time, students in the STEM schools had negligible gains on state standardized achievement tests in science and math. In some cases, proficiency rates even dropped.

For the study, a group of researchers led by Lois Weis of the University of Buffalo and Margaret Eisenhart at the University of Colorado Boulder spent three years following eight schools—four comprehensive schools with new STEM programs and four nonselective schools that self-identified as STEM schools. All but one had student populations where more than 70 percent of students are eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch and were using STEM as part of school improvement efforts.

The report highlights the opportunities available or not, in some cases to students who were in the top 20 percent of their class in science and math at the end of 9th grade with an interest in STEM professions.

A version of this article appeared in the September 30, 2015 edition of Education Week as STEM Schools

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Teacher Perspectives: What is the Future of Virtual Education?
Hear from practicing educators on how virtual and hybrid options offer more flexibility and best practices for administrative support.
Content provided by Class
Reading & Literacy Webinar How Background Knowledge Fits Into the ‘Science of Reading’ 
Join our webinar to learn research-backed strategies for enhancing reading comprehension and building cultural responsiveness in the classroom.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management America's School Buildings Are Crumbling, and It's a 'National Security Issue'
The country's investments in school buildings are falling further behind pressing needs each year, advocates argue.
6 min read
Students walk past an open vent for the aging HVAC system at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 12, 2023. A litany of infrastructure issues at many of the school district's aging campuses make for tough choices on spending COVID recovery funds on infrastructure or academics.
Students walk past an open vent for the aging HVAC system at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 12, 2023. A litany of infrastructure issues at many of the school district's aging campuses make for tough choices on spending COVID recovery funds on infrastructure or academics.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
School & District Management Opinion 5 Strategies to Empower Teachers to Be Leaders
Here’s how—and why—school leaders should improve their schools’ teacher-leadership approaches.
Matthew Finster & Amy Lamitie
3 min read
Illustration of a leader pointing to a compass.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Principals Head to Congress to Make a Case for More Support
Hundreds of principals are in Washington to lobby lawmakers. Their main agenda: mental health and recruitment and retention.
5 min read
The U.S. Capitol Dome
Principals from across the country are visiting Congress this week to advocate for more supports for mental health and staff recruitment and retention.
Patrick Semansky/AP
School & District Management Is the David Porn? Come See, Italians Tell Florida Parents
A Florida principal resigned after complaints about a lesson featuring Michelangelo’s the David.
3 min read
Michelangelo's marble statue of "David", is seen in Florence's Galleria dell' Accademia on May 24, 2004.
Michelangelo's marble statue of "David", is seen in Florence's Galleria dell' Accademia on May 24, 2004.
Fabrizio Giovannozzi/AP