Accelerate Learning today announces two studies in Texas that build on
previous research showing that science instruction with STEMscopes™
has a positive effect on student achievement on the State of Texas
Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR™). One study showed that, for
the fourth consecutive year, STEMscopes districts outperformed
non-STEMscopes districts on the 2017-18 STAAR grade 5 science test.
Another study revealed that districts that used STEMscopes for Biology
had higher percentages of students who met or mastered proficiency on
the Biology End-of-Course (EOC) STAAR assessment.
In the study examining the results of the STAAR
grade 5 science test, the average passing was 73 percent for all
1,148 Texas districts that include fifth grade. Of these, 559 districts
used STEMscopes and 589 districts used a district-created or other
science curriculum. The average passing rate was 74 percent for
STEMscopes districts and 71 percent for non-STEMscopes districts.
STEMscopes districts also had higher rates of students who met and
mastered grade-level performance standards. In addition, STEMscopes
districts had higher passing rates for economically disadvantaged
students.
A different study examined data from the 1,074 districts that received
scores on the 2017-18 Biology
EOC STAAR assessment. Of these, 366 districts used STEMscopes and
708 districts used a district-created or other curriculum. In STEMscopes
districts, 59 percent of students met proficiency and 20 percent
mastered proficiency. In non-STEMscopes districts, 57 percent of
students met proficiency and 18 percent mastered proficiency. The study
also conducted analyses to examine the results while accounting for
previous year achievement and important demographic variables.
Specifically, using the STEMscopes curriculum was associated with an
increase of 2 percent of students who met proficiency and 1 percent who
mastered proficiency on the Biology EOC assessment. These results
translate to an additional 4,480 students meeting proficiency and 3,426
students mastering proficiency.
“Year after year, study after study has shown a positive association
between STEMscopes usage and increased student proficiency in science,”
said Vernon Johnson, president and CEO of Accelerate Learning. “These
results, combined with teachers’ and leaders’ recommendations of
STEMscopes, are why it is now used in almost half of Texas districts. We
congratulate these districts on their results.”
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