the effect of the appalachian math and science partnership on.pptVIP

The Effect of the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership on Student Achievement William Craig, Betsy Evans, and Eugenia Toma Martin School of Public Policy and Administration University of Kentucky June, 2007 Purpose of AMSP Eliminate the achievement gap in central Appalachian region Lower levels of performance in math and science exist in these schools than in more affluent areas of the state Enrollment in higher level math and science courses less than 1/3 in lower level courses Enrollment in AP courses often nonexistent Build an integrated K-16 system to ensure high-quality math and science teacher workforce Focus of this research Look at one aspect of overall purpose: student outcomes Previous research Large existing literature on importance of teacher quality Scientific evidence mixed on effects of professional development programs Recent evaluations of programs using large scale data sets find effects two to three years after the intervention Methodology for evaluation Education production function or value-added model Student Outcomes = f( Student Characteristics, Family Characteristics, Teacher Characteristics, School Characteristics, Peer Characteristics, Past Student Outcomes) Data School level data Years 2000-2001 through 2005-2006 AMSP begins 2002-2003 Our goal Examine outcomes in AMSP schools over this time period Assess whether participation in AMSP has increased CATS scores Control for other factors including prior year CATS scores Variables Used Dependent variable – CATS index scores Independent variables- AMSP dummy, ARSI dummy, % Students on free and reduced price lunch, % Students in various ethnic categories, teacher experience, pupil-teacher ratio of the school, per pupil spending of the school, school year, fixed effects Inputs that matter for math achievement Student characteristics Free and reduced price lunch students perform at lower levels Asian and Hispanic students perform at higher levels than White students Teacher