Contents:

• LSC Reports Available
• 2002-2003 Data Collection
• Projects Needed for Elementary and Middle School Science Program Studies
• A Summary of the January Lead Evaluator Meeting

LSC Reports Available

Two LSC reports are now available on the HRI LSC website.  Progress and Pitfalls: A Cross-Site Look at Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement provides a synthesis of lessons learned about preparing professional development providers, creating a professional development culture conducive to learning, providing high quality professional development, and developing an environment supportive of reform. The report is based primarily on an analysis of comprehensive evaluation reports written for the core evaluation of the Local Systemic Change Initiative by project evaluators of 84 LSC projects from cohorts 1−7 (36 mathematics projects, 42 science projects, and 6 both mathematics and science projects), as well as data from interviews conducted with PIs of the same projects. Data on the impact of the LSC on teachers and the likelihood that the reforms will continue after project funding has ended are also discussed.    

The yearly cross-site report, Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement: Year Eight Cross-Site Report, is also available. Copies of both reports have been sent to each project.

2002-2003 Data Collection

Spring Data Collection

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

It's time once again to administer LSC Principal and Teacher Questionnaires!   In past years projects have been very successful at obtaining the high response rates required by NSF (minimum 80% for teachers, 90% for principals).  It is important that projects keep the response rates high in order to ensure sufficient data for analysis.  Remember to use the follow-up questionnaires when necessary, and let HRI know if you require additional copies of the questionnaires to send to non-respondents.  Once you have completed the data collection, please send all of the questionnaires in one shipment to HRI no later than July 1, 2003.   Don't forget to complete the "Cover Sheet for Returning Completed Questionnaires" and include it in the shipment.  As in the past, you should get your questionnairre results back from us within a 30-day timeframe.

Teacher Interviews

Teacher Interview Summaries are now available to submit via the Web.  To access these forms, go to Online Forms.

The forms that are available are the revised versions which were made as a result of issues discussed at the Lead Evaluator meeting in January.  For each question, an additional code was included to more accurately describe teachers' responses.  Please let us know if you have any questions about the changes to the forms.

Incentives

Once again we are using the same classroom observation incentive system that we have used for the past few years.  Projects scheduled to conduct classroom observations were 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 observation.  In either case, observations that may be conducted beyond those required for the core evaluation do not figure into the incentive allotment.  Projects that selected the first option should have received their vouchers and catalogs for distribution last month.  All other projects should submit their invoices to HRI no later than October 22, 2003.  Please note that the completed classroom observation protocols must be submitted online prior to billing HRI. 

Projects Needed for Elementary and Middle School Science Program Studies

As you may know, for the last two years HRI has been conducting a study of the effects of the LSC on elementary student achievement in science.  This study involves administering an assessment to students of teachers involved in LSC professional development.  We are now beginning a similar study at the middle school level.  A student assessment for grades 7 and 8 is being piloted by several LSCs this spring, and will be more widely administered during the next school year.  All projects that target science teachers are invited to participate in the elementary and/or middle school studies in 2003-2004.  We will soon be contacting all of the LSC science projects regarding participation in these studies.

Information about the science program studies, as well as the various forms and instructions needed for administration, are located on our website 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 administer the assessment to a larger number of classes 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.  If you are currently experiencing any trouble conducting the study, contact Joy Frechtling (FRECHTJ1 (at) WESTAT (dot) com) at Westat for assistance.
• You may need to secure administrative and/or human subjects' approval from your LSC's district(s).  Based on 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.

Please note that in order for this study to fulfill NSF's student outcomes requirement, projects must administer the assessment to enough classes to allow for project-specific analyses.  In small projects this would likely mean administering the assessment to all teachers and classes at the selected grade level.  For large projects, the sample should be representative and large enough for meaningful analysis.  Projects should contact Joy Frechtling (FRECHTJ1 (at) WESTAT (dot) com) at Westat for assistance in study design, including sample size and selection.

 A Summary of the January Lead Evaluator Meeting

The annual Lead Evaluator meeting was held on January 13−14 in North Carolina.  While aspects of core evaluation data collection and reporting were reviewed, the major focus of the meeting was looking at lessons learned about conducting a project evaluation in the context of a required core data collection.  Lead Evaluators participated in in-depth discussions about the strengths and limitations of the core, and they examined examples of data collection that projects have conducted beyond the core. 

Thanks to all of the Lead Evaluators who participated in the survey and interview regarding individual project evaluation.  A special thanks to Fran Curcio and Mike Howard for their insightful project-specific presentations at the Lead Evaluator meeting.