Case Studies

This study reports on a comparison of school districts that use STEMscopes and districts that do not use STEMscopes on the science component of the 2018-2019 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR™). The state of Texas creates benchmarks for proficiency in science, identifying students as not proficient, approaching grade-level proficiency, meeting grade-level proficiency, and mastering grade-level proficiency. The percentage of students in each of these categories is used to determine a district's achievement score in science. The percentage of students who approach grade-level proficiency is used by the state as the district passing rate. The key findings of the study include...

In the Extended Learning Program (ELP) in the middle schools of Bakersfield City School District (BCSD) student attendance is improving and disciplinary situations have decreased. What is sparking students' interest in after-school opportunities? Engineering— with plenty of inquiry-based, hands-on educational experiences that encourage exploration and inspire ingenuity. With STEMscopes™ DIVE-in Engineering, ELP site coordinators now have an age-appropriate curriculum and resources to teach the engineering design process and help students become creative makerspace engineers...

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, districts and schools are required to use evidence to evaluate the programs, interventions, and curricula that they use. Many ESSA programs require schools or districts to evaluate the evidence of curricula in producing desired outcomes, most notably improving student achievement. Given the ever-changing nature of the classroom and available resources, ESSA has identified four tiers of evidence that districts can use to evaluate the strength of the evidence based on the research that has been conducted. The tiers range from Tier 1 (strong evidence where a randomized control trial has demonstrated effects on student achievement) to Tier 4 (demonstrates a rationale where there is a well-designed logic model but no research evidence).

Since its inception at Rice University, STEMscopes has conducted research to inform product development and to evaluate the effectiveness of STEMscopes on teachers and students. Based on this research conducted over several years, the evidence of STEMscopes effectiveness is solidly in Tier 2 (moderate evidence). In other words, there is moderate evidence of STEMscopes' effectiveness based on several high quality quasi-experimental studies. We have highlighted several studies, including quasi-experimental studies and case-studies...

During the 2017-18 school year, 27 Oregon school districts used the STEMscopes NGSS digital science curriculum in their elementary schools. The 2018 Oregon Science Assessment results show that these districts had a fifth grade proficiency rate 4 percentage points higher than districts that did not use STEMscopes, even after controlling for important demographic variables and previous year achievement. This translates to an additional 371 fifth grade students considered proficient in science. In addition, the districts that used STEMscopes improved their fifth grade proficiency rates by 2 percentage points from 2017 to 2018, while proficiency rates in districts that did not use STEMscopes decreased by 2 points. One of the 27 Oregon districts that used STEMscopes NGSS was Cascade School District...

In the first year that Columbia County School District (CCSD) used the STEMscopes Georgia curriculum, the percentage of fifth graders scoring at the proficient level and above on the Georgia Milestones Science End-of-Grade (EOG) assessment increased from 52 percent in 2017 to 56 percent in 2018. By moving from textbooks to the online, comprehensive science curriculum, CCSD achieved its vision for hands-on STEM learning — and posted its best results in science since the Georgia Milestones Assessment System began in 2014-15...

At Horizon Elementary, a Title I school in the Broward County Public Schools district, the passing rate on the Florida Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment jumped from 27 percent in 2016 to 48 percent in 2017 and 51 percent in 2018. How did Horizon's fifth grade teachers help the school nearly double its passing rate in just two years? In 2016-17, they transformed their classrooms into active learning spaces for science with the STEMscopes^TM digital science curriculum and hands-on exploration kits...

The ALI research team examined achievement results on the 2018 Oregon state science assessment in 5th grade for districts that used STEMscopes NGSS compared to districts that did not. The key findings include: Districts that used STEMscopes had a proficiency rate 4% higher than districts that did not use STEMscopes, even after controlling for important demographic variables and previous year achievement. The 4% increase in proficiency rates associated with STEMscopes translates to an additional 371 5th grade students considered proficient in science....

This study examines the relationship of using STEMscopes and student achievement on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment (SSA). In Florida, elementary students are assessed on the SSA in the 5th grade year. Utilizing data from both school performance and STEMscopes analytics, the research team found a positive association between teachers' use of STEMscopes and academic achievement on the SSA...

The following report includes results comparing STEMscopes and non-STEMscopes districts on the Biology Endof- Course assessment of the 2017-2018 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR^TM). Districts were identified as STEMscopes districts if they had a subscription to STEMscopes for Biology and showed usage of STEMscopes based on the analytics data. The state of Texas creates benchmarks for proficiency in science and identifies students as not meeting grade-level proficiency, approaching grade-level proficiency, meeting gradelevel proficiency, and mastering grade-level proficiency. The percent of students in each of these categories is used to determine the district's achievement in science...

At Ben Sheppard Elementary STEM Magnet School, the proficiency rate on the Florida Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment climbed from 38 percent in 2016 to 49 percent in 2017. How did the Title I school raise its proficiency rate 11 percentage points while the average statewide proficiency rate remained flat at 51 percent? In 2016, the Title I school removed science textbooks from the classroom and implemented the STEMscopes™ digital STEM curriculum and hands-on exploration kits in kindergarten through fifth grade...

In 2015, the state of Alabama adopted a new framework for K-12 science education, the Alabama Course of Study: Science. This course of study includes science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas that students need to become college and career ready. To meet the new science standards, many Alabama districts are implementing STEMscopes Alabama, a STEM curriculum built from the 2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science. One such district is Talladega City Schools, which is located about 50 miles east of Birmingham...

During the 2016-2017 school year, five public school districts in Rhode Island, including Coventry Public Schools, used the STEMscopes NGSS digital science curriculum in their elementary schools. The 2017 results from the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) Science Assessment show that these districts outperformed the rest of the state on their fourth grade proficiency rates in science. Specifically, the five STEMscopes districts had an average science proficiency rate of 54.1 percent, and the state of Rhode Island had an average science proficiency rate of 40.6 percent...

At Horizon Elementary, a Title I school in Broward County Public Schools, the passing rate on the Florida Grade 5 Statewide Science Assessment jumped from 27 percent in 2016 to 48 percent in 2017. How did Horizon’s fifth grade teachers help their students make a gain of 21 percentage points in just one year? In 2016-17, they transformed their classrooms into active learning spaces for science with the STEMscopes^TM digital science curriculum and hands-on exploration kits...

From 2016 to 2017, the average statewide passing rate on the STAAR® Grade 5 Science Assessment declined by 2 percentage points, dropping from 75 to 73 percent. Magnolia Independent School District (ISD) bucked this trend, raising its passing rate by 4 percentage points, with gains for students who are economically disadvantaged and English language learners (ELLs) as well. According to Magnolia's Director of Science Sheri Gallemore, students' growth was due to the diligent work of their teachers and the consistent use of the STEMscopes^TM comprehensive science curriculum...

The Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) Migrant Education Program Region 16 is California’s largest migrant region with more than 12,850 migrant students identified. To support migrant students in achieving academic success, several school districts in Region 16 use STEMscopes^TM as the central curriculum in their Migrant Education Summer Academies. Students who use the online, comprehensive science curriculum have improved their content knowledge and skills — and developed a love for science...

The following report includes results comparing districts that use STEMscopes and districts that do not use STEMscopes on the science component of the 2017-2018 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR^TM). The state of Texas creates benchmarks for proficiency in science and identifies students as not proficient, approaching grade-level proficiency, meeting grade-level proficiency, and mastering grade-level proficiency. The percent of students in each of these categories is used to determine the district's achievement in science. The percentage of students who approach grade-level proficiency is used by the state as the district passing rate. The key findings of the study include...

In Charlotte County Public Schools (CCPS), 57 percent of fifth graders passed the Florida Statewide Science Assessment in 2016, up from 50 percent in 2015. What changed from one school year to the next? In 2015-16, CCPS received a Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) grant and provided STEM teachers in all 10 elementary schools with the STEMscopes^TM online, comprehensive science curriculum and in-depth professional development to enhance their content knowledge and teaching skills...

Findings from the State of Texas 2015-2016 STAAR^TM (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) Release Tests, have revealed that STEMscopes district-users in the state of Texas have higher passing rates than districts that do not use STEMscopes. Analyses were using data from the 2015-2016 school year show that STEMscopes districts had a passing rate of 73.3% vs. 69.2% for districts without STEMscopes on the science STAAR. Subgroups including economically disadvantaged, Latino, LEP, and Bilingual/ESL students demonstrated that these populations had significantly higher passing rates in STEMscopes districts. These differences ranged from an increase of 2.8 percentage points to 4.8 percentage points...

In the 2015-2016 school year, the children who participated in the 2014-2015 implementation study were followed into kindergarten. All kindergarten students were assessed on their science and engineering skills throughout the school year. Specifically, students were assessed using the Children’s Learning Institute Engage, a comprehensive progress monitoring system that includes quantitative assessments across multiple domains of academic achievement...

It is the goal of STEMscopes to provide an inquiry-based curriculum, which incorporates the research-based, constructivist phases of the BSCS 5E Instructional Model, the Key Findings from the National Research Council’s report How People Learn (2000), the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and an additional level of support for English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) and Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation for teachers as they meet the needs of all students in their classrooms. Within the development and delivery of the 5E+IA STEMscopes science curriculum model, teachers are provided a sequenced pathway, resources and support for meeting the needs of all students in all K-12 science classrooms...

STEMscopes^TM Early Explorer makes STEM education accessible and easy for preschool teachers so that time spent on STEM instruction increases significantly. In a 2014-15 implementation study in Waco ISD, teachers reported spending an average of 36 minutes per day on STEM instruction, compared to the national average of 1 to 3 minutes spent on math and science in preschool classrooms...

An in-depth analysis and literature review of the creation of the 5E+IA lesson model and its impact when enacted on a 5th grade classroom. The following case study describes an adoption of the 5E+I/A inquiry model in an urban elementary school in the Southwest United States. Teachers in a 5th grade classroom focus pedagogical decisions on inquiry-based instruction and the relationship between inquiry and assessment, as well as organized feedback to support academic success. The study establishes ways in which the 5E+I/A model empowers teachers to leverage the diversity within classroom communities as a resource to intensify learning and support inquiry. Results illustrate the many ways that multi-level assessment makes student thinking visible while the value of integrating intervention and acceleration is an additional opportunity to learn...

Partnering with Bay and Escambia County Schools, Accelerate Learning conducted a year-long (2015-2016) initiative to improve 3rd-8th grade STEM teacher practices, as part of an MSP grant funded by the state of Florida. Participating teachers (n = 44) had access to the STEMscopes Florida curriculum, materials kits, and 60 hours of professional development (9 full-day trainings) aimed at improving science content knowledge and STEM instructional practices. Results show that participating teachers improved their STEM instructional practices and science content knowledge across the school year...

Dr. Elizabeth Bell explains how STEMscopes designs studies, conducts research, and acts on results using three unique methods.