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Rttt STEM Affinity Network-Final Report

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Rttt STEM Affinity Network-Final Report Consortium for Educational Research and Evaluation– North Carolina Race to the Top STEM Affinity Network Final Report Authors: Nina Arshavsky, Julie Edmunds, Kathleen Mooney, Beth Thrift, and Lucy Wynn SERVE Center, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Kelli Samonte The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Ludmila Janda Education Policy Initiative at Carolina, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill December 2014 Acknowledgements We wish to thank: Lynne Garrison, Angela Quick, Robin Marcus, Joe Edney, and Darrell Kain of North Carolina New Schools; Melissa Thibault, Angela Teachey, and lead developers from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics; Sam Houston and Lisa Rhodes of North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Center; and Tina Marcus and Jo Anne Honeycutt of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for their time and assistance with data collection. We also would like to thank the teachers, staff, and students who participated in our site visits and focus groups. We thank John Willse from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for assistance with quantitative analyses. We are grateful to Terri Shelton from SERVE, Trip Stallings and Glenn Kleiman from North Carolina State University’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Julie Marks from the University of North Carolina’s Education Policy Initiative at Carolina, and Gary Henry and James Guthrie from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College for valuable feedback on drafts of this report, and to Suzanne Branon for editorial assistance. STEM Affinity Network: Final Report December 2014 Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Overview of the Race to the Top STEM Initiative ...................................................................... 8 Overview of the Evaluation ....................................................................................................... 10 Data and Methods ......................................................................................................................... 11 Demographics, Course Taking, and Achievement .................................................................... 11 School Sample and Participants ............................................................................................. 11 Data and Measures ................................................................................................................. 11 Procedures and Analyses ........................................................................................................ 12 Student and Staff Surveys.......................................................................................................... 12 School Sample and Participants ............................................................................................. 12 Data and Measures ................................................................................................................. 12 Procedures and Analyses ........................................................................................................ 13 Implementation Data ................................................................................................................. 14 School Sample and Participants ............................................................................................. 14 Data and Measures ................................................................................................................. 14 Procedures and Analyses ........................................................................................................ 15 Findings......................................................................................................................................... 17 I. Short-Term Outcomes of the RttT STEM Initiative .............................................................. 17 Short-Term Demographics, Course-Taking, and Achievement Outcomes in the 20 RttT STEM Network Schools Compared to All Schools in the State ............................................ 17 Short-Term Outcomes in RttT STEM Network Schools: Evidence from Staff and Student Surveys ................................................................................................................................... 21 Short-Term Outcomes in Anchor Schools: Evidence from the Qualitative Data .................. 41 II. Implementation ..................................................................................................................... 53 Network of 20 STEM Schools ............................................................................................... 53 Professional Development...................................................................................................... 54 Development of the Integrated STEM Curriculum ................................................................ 58 Partnerships ............................................................................................................................ 60 III. Sustainability ....................................................................................................................... 62 North Carolina STEM Strategic Plan ..................................................................................... 63 Web Portal for Statewide Sharing of STEM Resources ........................................................ 64 STEM Anchor Schools........................................................................................................... 65 Consortium for Educational Research and Evaluation–North Carolina STEM Affinity Network: Final Report December 2014 STEM Affinity Schools .......................................................................................................... 67 Sustainability of Partnerships with Businesses and IHEs ...................................................... 69 Lessons Learned ..................................................................................................................... 70 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................................. 72 RttT STEM Initiative as a Whole .............................................................................................. 72 I. Short-Term Outcomes of the Program ................................................................................... 72 II. Implementation Activities ..................................................................................................... 73 III. Sustainability ....................................................................................................................... 75 References ..................................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix A. STEM Affinity Network Schools ............................................................................ 77 Appendix B. Details of Methodology ........................................................................................... 78 Appendix C. Student Survey Analyses: Complete Tables ........................................................... 93 Appendix D. Staff Survey Analyses: Complete Tables .............................................................. 111 Consortium for Educational Research and Evaluation–North Carolina 2 STEM Affinity Network: Final Report December 2014 RACE TO THE TOP STEM AFFINITY NETWORK: FINAL REPORT Executive Summary Overview of the Evaluation This final report of the Race to the Top (RttT) STEM evaluation presents outcomes of the initiative at the end of the original funding period (2010-14) and discusses implementation and sustainability of the program activities. It also presents recommendations with regard to improving effectiveness of and continuation of the program. The evaluation was guided by the following three research questions: 1. What were the short-term outcomes for students and staff in the 20 schools in the STEM network at the end of the funding period? 2. To what extent have the four key elements of the network of STEM anchor and affinity schools (network structure, professional development, curriculum, and partnerships) been implemented as intended? 3. What mechanisms and funding were put in place for the sustainability and scaling-up of the model, or of its most successful elements? Findings I. Short-Term Outcomes Short-term demographics, achievement, and course-taking outcomes. In 2012-13, RttT-funded STEM schools were similar to all other high schools in the state in terms of gender representation, the availability of advanced STEM courses (with the exception of advanced chemistry), and student achievement. Relative to all other high schools, a higher proportion of RttT-funded STEM schools hosted high-poverty student populations, and a smaller proportion hosted student populations with moderate levels of poverty. Between 2010-11 and 2012-13, the analyses revealed the following changes: o The number of low-poverty STEM schools increased from 7% to 26% and the number of high-poverty STEM schools decreased from 53% to 37%, partially due to the addition of new STEM schools. o The percent of advanced-level Algebra II courses (compared
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