Summary:

Across three years of STEMscopes Science use, Dunne STEM Academy Elementary School increased their science proficiency passing rates on the Illinois Science Assessment by 18 percentage points. By 2019, Dunne academy was significantly outperforming the district passing rate by 30 points, and the state passing rate by 15.5 points. 

Challenges:

Part of Dunne STEM Academy’s mission is to provide students with a rigorous and technologically enhanced curriculum that fosters high expectations for students. They wanted a hands-on science curriculum that inspired student creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

Solution:

Dunne STEM Academy began using STEMscopes science back in 2015. Through combining digital resources with hands-on exploration and supplemental print material, STEMscopes students learn through a variety of modalities for a comprehensive understanding of STEM concepts. See how Dunne STEM Academy based its science curriculum around hands-on learning to help students reach their potential and engage in an exciting STEM learning environment with STEMscopes NGSS.

Results

We evaluated the impact of STEMscopes science within Dunne Elementary in two ways. First we asked: How has using STEMscopes impacted Dunne STEM Academy’s science proficiency scores as measured by the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) standardized test since it was introduced in the 2016-2017 school year? We then asked: How does Dunne Academy’s most recent scores (2019) compare to district and state scores?

Over Time Impact

Results indicate that in the spring of 2017, 49% of Dunne STEM Academy students (5th and 8th graders) passed the ISA. In 2018, this number increased 6 percentage points to 55% of students passing the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) benchmark. These results improved even more between the spring of 2018 and 2019, with 67% of Dunne STEM Academy students passing the ISA benchmark at the end of 2019, resulting in a 12 point increase. This represents an exponential increase in student science proficiency during this time. Below, we include a table and figure comparing Dunne STEM Academy results with results in their district (Chicago PD 299) and the State of Illinois. Dunne STEM Academy, with the help of STEMscopes, is increasing their student’s proficiency, while overall student average proficiency by district shows a slow, decreasing pattern, and statewide student proficiency is generally staying at about the same level (with ~half of students passing).

FIGURE 1 PROFICIENCY RATE PROGRESS FROM 2017 - 2019

A Closer Look: 2019 Impact

As can be seen in the figure, starting in 2017, Dunne STEM Academy’s proficiency rates, although higher than the district’s rates, were very similar to state average passing rates. Yet by 2019 (see results in red box), they far exceeded the district and state average passing rates. We took a closer look at these findings and used Welch’s t-tests to evaluate whether the differences were statistically significant. Results indicated a significant difference (mean difference: 30.25, 95% confidence interval: 24.39 - 36.11) demonstrating that Dunne STEM Academy’s average proficiency level was significantly higher than the rest of the district’s average passing level t(33) = 10.51, p <.001. Likewise, compared to the state of Illinois, results indicated a significant difference (mean difference: 15.55, 95% confidence interval: 9.69 - 21.41) demonstrating that Dunne STEM Academy’s average proficiency level was also significantly higher than the rest of the state’s passing level t(33) = 5.40, p < .001.

Of note, 100% of the students enrolled at Dunne STEM academy in 2019 were African American students. This means we can also compare Dunne’s results to other African American students in the district and state. These results indicate a larger difference as Dunne STEM Academy significantly outperforms (mean difference: 40.25, confidence interval: 34.39 - 46.11) African American students in the district, t(33) = 13.97, p <.001, and across the state (mean difference: 38.75, confidence interval: 32.89 - 44.61, t(33) = 13.46, p <.001).

The last comparison we considered was to evaluate the proficiency rate differences among low-income students at Dunne STEM academy (93% of students) and among remaining district (78% low income) and state (49%) low-income students. Once again, we see significant differences between Dunne STEM Academy and the district (mean difference: 31.00, confidence interval: 23.91 - 38.09, t(31) = 8.92, p<.001), and the state (mean difference: 22.80, confidence interval: 15.71 - 29.89, t(31) = 6.56, p<.001). Overall, we can interpret these differences such that: with the help of STEMscopes science and Dunne STEM Academy’s dedicated teachers, African American students and low income students greatly outperformed their counterparts at the district and state level, with Dunne’s average proficiency passing rates among these groups estimated to be 22 - 40 points higher.