Contents:

• Year Seven Cross-Site Report Now Available
• 2001-2002 Data Collection
• Project Evaluation Teams: New Members
• "How to Win Friends and Influence The Public in the LSC Math Reform Movement": Special LSC Mathematics Conference
• Student Outcome Study Plans
• Year Two of the Study of the LSC on Student Achievement in Science
• Gleaning Lessons from LSC Projects

Year Seven Cross-Site Report Now Available

The "Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement: Year Seven Cross-Site Report" is now available in the News, Reports, Presentations section of the LSC website. Copies have been sent to the PI and Lead Evaluator of each project. Please email lsc@horizon-research.com if you would like any additional copies.

2001-2002 Data Collection

Spring Data Collection

It’s that time of year again! By now, all projects that have provided "clean" sampling frames to HRI should have received Principal Questionnaires and notification of the online availability of their teacher interview samples. Projects that are scheduled to administer Teacher Questionnaires and conduct classroom observations should have received those materials, as well.

Questionnaires

LSC projects continue to have success at achieving the high response rates NSF requires (minimum 80% for teachers, 90% for principals). Keep up the good work! Let HRI know if you require additional copies of the questionnaires to send to non-respondents. Once you have completed the data collection, and no later than July 1, 2002, send HRI all of the questionnaires in one shipment. Don’t forget to complete your "Cover Sheet for Returning Completed Questionnaires" and include it in the shipment.

Given that the questionnaires are so similar to previous years’, we will have the cleaning and analysis codes ready to go as soon as the data collection period ends, and you should get your results back well within a 30-day timeframe.

Observations and Interviews

There has been considerable variability among projects in success in interviewing and observing teachers. Some evaluators routinely observe/interview all or nearly all of the original sample, while others wind up contacting 15 or more teachers in order to collect data from 10. Especially in the case of classroom observations, which are longitudinal, it is important to stick to the original sample as much as possible. While recognizing that contexts differ, NSF nevertheless looks on cooperation with the core evaluation as one of the indicators of the quality of the relationship the project has established with targeted teachers. PIs and Lead Evaluators can help garner cooperation by emphasizing to the teachers that (1) the core evaluation looks at the project as a whole, not individual teachers, and (2) the purpose of the data collection is to determine if the project is succeeding in changing conditions in the schools to enable teachers to implement what they are learning in the professional development.

Incentives

We are using the same system for providing incentives to observed teachers as we have used for the last two years. Projects scheduled to conduct classroom observations have been given the choice of distributing "vouchers" that observed teachers can redeem for about $25 worth of educational materials, or billing HRI $25 for each completed classroom observation. In either case, observations that may be conducted beyond those required for the core evaluation do not figure into the incentive allotment.

Project Evaluation Teams: New Members

The Lead Evaluator is a key person in the core evaluation. He or she is responsible for conducting 3 of the required 5-8 professional development observations each year, for supervising data collection activities, and for reporting the results both to the project and to HRI.

Some projects find a need to change Lead Evaluators as the project progresses, e.g., if the Lead Evaluator retires. Please note that your NSF Program Officer must approve your choice, even if the person is already serving as Lead Evaluator for another LSC project. If you have designated or anticipate designating a new Lead Evaluator, please contact HRI with this information as soon as possible so that training requirements can be discussed and contact information can be changed.

Lead Evaluators new to the LSC will need to participate in the New Project Orientation Meeting, scheduled for May 1-2, 2002 in Chapel Hill, NC. Lead Evaluators who are already working in this capacity on other LSC projects, regardless of subject/grade range, need not attend this meeting.

Some projects may also find it necessary to add classroom observers and/or professional development observers. Projects are reminded that the project’s NSF Program Officer must approve all new members of the project evaluation team, and that they look for people with the necessary expertise in mathematics/science education. Those who are new to the LSC, and those who are not yet certified for the subject/grade range of your project, must be trained and certified by HRI to conduct classroom observations. The next classroom observation training session will be held in North Carolina in February of 2003. Lead Evaluators may request materials from HRI to train members of the evaluation team to conduct professional development observations. Projects working with evaluation firms are reminded that individuals, not the research group as a whole, are trained and certified. It is the PI's responsibility to make sure that all professional development and classroom observations conducted for the core evaluation are carried out by qualified/certified observers.

"How to Win Friends and Influence The Public in the LSC Math Reform Movement": Special LSC Mathematics Conference

A special LSC mathematics conference on public engagement is planned for the NCTM conference in Las Vegas, April 22, 2002. The conference will focus on the special needs and opportunities of mathematics LSCs as they try to adapt to and take advantage of the changing public understanding and perceptions of mathematics reform. The conference will focus on lessons learned about how various parties in the national mathematics debate affect state policy context and LSC operations.

At the request of NSF, the initial planning for this conference was conducted by a small group of LSC representatives from diverse geographical areas: Joe Merlino from Philadelphia, who serves as the conference chair, Carol Fry Bohlin from California, Bill Frascella from Indiana, and Lucy West from New York City. HRI is assisting in the conference planning.

The conference will focus on three questions:

1. How does an LSC’s state policy context either provide opportunities for, or erect obstacles to, mathematics reform relative to the work of an LSC?
2. Given the realities of a state’s policy context, how can an individual LSC effectively engage the public in promoting an understanding of and support its own project’s goals and objectives for math reform, while at the same time either adapting to obstacles or taking advantage of opportunities?
3. What collective action can LSCs take to engage parents and the public in a way that supports local systemic mathematics reform?

The expected outcomes of this conference are:

1. Individually, each LSC will be empowered with concrete strategies and information to better engage the public in understanding and supporting math reform.
2. Collectively, specific collective action steps and stronger inter-LSC communication links will be developed. These specific action steps may include the following: regional information sharing and co-planning, sharing student achievement data, ensuring sound methodology when publicly reporting LSC results, linked web sites, joint education projects with the national education media and state legislators, and leveraging existing professional associations such as local and regional NCTM and NCSM affiliates.

If you would like to register for the conference, you can use the online registration form.

Projects will be permitted to send up to four representatives.

Student Outcome Study Plans

Student Outcome Study Plans for Cohorts 5 and 6 are due March 15, 2002; Cohort 7 plans are due November 15, 2002 (see LSC Projects by Cohort [PDF] in the Data Collection Manual). Please send your plan to your NSF Program Officer with a copy to frechtj1@westat.com. Plans should include a study timeline; if you have already submitted your plan and it didn’t include a timeline, please provide it by the deadline.

Year Two of the Study of the LSC on Student Achievement in Science

Even though spring is just arriving and summer vacation, much less next school year, is still in the distant future, the science LSCs need to begin thinking about the 2002-2003 science program study. Because of the turn around time required by the printer, HRI needs to submit our order for next year’s study by June 10, 2002. Thus, in the next couple of weeks, HRI will be contacting all of the LSC science projects regarding participating in the science program study for the 2002-2003 school year.

Information about the study as well as the various forms and instructions needed for administration are located on our web site at:

http://www.horizon-research.com/LSC/assessment/

A few things to keep in mind:

• Inclusion in the program study requires the participation of at least six, randomly selected, classes per project.

• Projects can choose to participate at a higher level in order to get project-representative results (Westat is available to assist projects with designing their own studies that utilize data collected from the program study).

• You may need to secure administrative and/or human subjects approval from your LSC's district(s). From prior experience, this process can take quite a long time to complete and we urge you to begin this process if you have not already done so.

If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to email us at SPS@horizon-research.com.

Gleaning Lessons from LSC Projects

The second of a series of Lessons Learned Conferences was held on January 16th in North Carolina. The purpose of the conference was to help NSF learn more about the role of professional development around instructional materials in mathematics and science reform. A total of 69 people, representing 47 projects, attended the conference. LSC project staff and evaluators participated in in-depth discussions on various aspects related to the use of instructional materials in mathematics and science professional development, including:

• Making the case for using designated instructional materials in LSC districts;
• Maintaining a content storyline in professional development and the classroom;
• Preparing professional development providers to provide effective professional development around the instructional materials; and
• Allotting time in professional development design decisions.

Thanks to all who attended for their openness and willingness to share their experiences. A special thanks to the PIs who wrote the case studies about their projects, which were distributed to the conference participants and framed the issues discussed at the conference. A monograph based on the conference discussions is in process and will be shared with the entire LSC community.