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Student Outcomes of AMSP
Academics and policymakers increasingly emphasize that a key to improving educational outcomes in the United States is enhancing the quality of teachers. While the attention to preservice teacher education is important, it will be many years before today's pre-service teachers constitute a majority of the teaching workforce. Hence, the focus of teacher quality enhancement efforts in the near term must be in-service professional development for those already in the teacher workforce.

This project is examining the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership (AMSP) effects on student learning. A goal of the partnership is to close the achievement gap in student math and science knowledge through AMSP activities. This study presents a statistical method for evaluating the effects of AMSP participation on student learning.

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Project Contributions

Working with What They Have: Professional Development as a Reform Strategy in Rural Schools
"In-service teacher professional development has been used to improve teacher effectiveness. In Kentucky, the National Science Foundation funded a large professional development program called the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership…
An Evaluation of the Appalachian Math and Science Partnership: Understanding the Decision to Participate and the Impact on Student Outcomes
Posted by: Nathan Barrett . The literature has demonstrated that low-performing schools face the greatest challenges in recruiting and retaining high quality teachers. This paper examines if there is an alternative way to improve teacher…
Linking Student Level Data to Teacher Professional Development Using a Value-Added Model
The ultimate goal of the MSP program is to improve student outcomes in math and science. The underlying assumption of the program is that professional development for teachers will lead…