Gibson & Associates External Evaluators

1. A few of the Achievement Outcomes for San Francisco Unified School District’s California Math and Science Partnership Grant- Working together to Improve Science Education (WISE) 510.986.0990www.gibsonandassociates.comnada@gibsonandassociates.com Gibson & Associates External Evaluators

2. WISE Program The mission of Working together to Improve Science Education (WISE) is to improve student achievement in science through content and pedagogy professional development for grade four and five teachers. • )WISE is a collaborative partnership formed between San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and San Francisco State University (SFSU) and includes City College of San Francisco (CCSF), the University of California Museum of Paleontology, and the California Academy of Sciences. • The WISE program began in the Summer of 2004 with 15 schools and 44 teachers. In this fourth year of funding, there are 14 sites and 33 teachers involved in the program.

3. Intensive Content Knowledge WISE teachers received an average of 50 hours of professional development content from partner faculty. • Focused on grade level Earth, Life, and Physical science standards. •  Included hard-to-teach/grasp subjects. • Combined inquiry-based hands-on activities with lectures. • Conducted during summer sessions and release days throughout the year.

4. Coaching Support WISE teachers receive an average of 20 hours of coaching support annually from 2 district coaches: • Each site had at least two teachers involved in the program. • Coaching support included team-teaching, materials preparation, curriculum pacing, and assessment preparation, and support. • Coaches visited each classroom at least once a month. • Coaches conducted monthly meetings at each site with WISE teachers.

5. 2007 Science CST Results 5th grade science proficiency rates for students in classrooms with WISE teachers with 50 or more hours of WISE Professional Development, and those with a minimum of 20 professional development hours, surpassed 5th graders at the same school site not participating in the program, students throughout the district, and the state.

6. 2005-2007 Results The graph below represents the percent of students achieving proficiency on the 5th grade California Standards Test in Science for WISE teachers and a control group matched by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and 2004 science and literacy achievement. The N for each year is approximately 260 WISE students and 400 Control group students. While there was growth for each group of students, the treatment students continued to outperform the control group and the state every year.

7. 2005-2007 Results: Males The graph below indicates three years of average raw scaled scores in Science for MALES in the WISE treatment group, as compared to males in the control group of students and in the state.

8. 2005-2007 Results: Females The graph below indicates three years of average raw scaled scores in Science for FEMALES in the WISE treatment group, as compared to those of the control group and in the state.

9. Achievement Gap Analysis In 2007, targeted subgroup populations (African American and Hispanic-Latino) in treated classrooms outperformed the control group and the state. However, due to the subgroup population fluctuations, it is impossible to make year to year comparisons for treatment subgroup and control group populations. Data for subgroup populations is presented for the year 2007 only.

10. Reducing the Achievement Gap The graph below indicates raw-scaled scores on the 5th grade Science CST for targeted subgroup populations.

11. Reducing the Achievement Gap The graph below compares the percent of students with below basic science scores from control classrooms and WISE treatment classrooms. WISE treatment classrooms had a far lower percentage of students with low scores.

12. Literacy and Science Data Students in WISE classrooms outperform the control group and the state in English Language Arts. This is particularly true of the Hispanic-Latino population, but also true of African American students. Key components of the WISE professional development program include instructing teachers in the use of science literacy notebooks, developing engaging lessons using hands-on materials, as well as vocabulary building activities, and teaching students to read expository science texts in class.

13. Reducing the Achievement Gap African American and Hispanic-Latino students in WISE classrooms outperformed the control group and the state in English Language Arts as indicated by average raw scaled scores for 5th graders on the ELA CST.

14. 2007 ELA Results by Gender The graph below indicates the average raw scaled English Language Arts scores by gender for the WISE treatment group, as compared to those of the control group and the state.

15. WISE Teachers Report Changes to Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Skills • Teachers appear more confident about teaching difficult to grasp topics such as electricity and magnetism, as evidenced by teacher-survey response comments: "All physical science standards seemed to be covered in this one workshop. I have a much deeper understanding of the relationship between electricity and magnetism." "Ifeel more secure about my knowledge after cleaning up misconceptions." • Teachers appear to apply more content area literacy strategies: "SQRRRL is a good tool for teachers to help their students comprehend scientific text materials.” • Teachers also describe greater familiarity with how to design rubrics and other tools to assess student understanding: "The rubric was a fantastic way to initiate reflection for future assignments.” “The Rubi-star resource is great and I’m glad it was presented to teachers who did not know about it."

16. WISE Changes Teacher Practices • Over 90% of WISE teacher participants indicated that the WISE program has been effective to very effective at developing specific lesson plans and developing science teaching skills. • On average, WISE teachers reported teaching science for 90 minutes weekly, twice as much as the comparison group (45 minutes). • 90% of WISE students report that they frequently use real science materials and tools and conduct group work. In surveys, students commented: "At our school, I like science because it's mostly hands-on." “I like learning new information and sharing it with each other and learning new science projects and doing them at home."