Project Description

Mosaic II is a five-year longitudinal research project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which continues RAND's study of the relationship between teacher instructional practices and student achievement in mathematics and science. Results from an earlier study (Mosaic I) suggest that exposure to standards-based instruction is weakly related to student achievement in mathematics and science. The present study will allow for a more in-depth examination of this relationship, including more complete measures of classroom practices, the use of NSF-developed curriculum materials, and exposure to various staff development opportunities. Mosaic II also expands the earlier study by investigating the benefits of cumulative exposure to standards-based practices over three years.

The Mosaic II study is not evaluating reform-based mathematics and science projects. Instead, it is examining the validity of a key assumption underlying NSF's efforts to reform mathematics and science instruction. Specifically, it is studying whether students are more proficient in mathematics and science if their teachers use the standards-based instructional strategies.

Data have been gathered from three sites over a period of three school years, including Mesa, AZ, Montgomery County, MD, and Minneapolis, MN. Depending on school district emphasis, science and/or mathematics was included in the study. Achievement data were collected from elementary and middle school students over the course of three years. In conjunction with the student data, information about the instructional practices of their mathematics and science teachers was also collected annually.

The final year of the project, 2004-05 will be devoted to data analysis. RAND anticipates that this project will culminate in various reports, journal articles, and public briefings.

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-9986612. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.