A growing number of studies have shown the benefits of K-12 integrated science and engineering education. With this study, we add to the literature by documenting the relationship between STEM learning and engagement, and the demographic characteristics that impact achievement in STEM. This longitudinal study followed a diverse group of 245 middle…

A qualitative multiple-case study explored the perceptions of science teachers, administrators, and specialists on instructional strategies used in urban STEM schools to decrease the science achievement gap among African American students. The problem addressed in this study was the science achievement gap for African American students in urban…

We investigated effects of tracking students into higher, more academic, and lower, less academic, school types immediately after primary school (early tracking) instead of having a comprehensive secondary school system (late tracking) on school gender segregation and gender gaps in achievement outcomes. We assumed that, in early tracking…

Ninth-grade students with learning difficulties typically underperform those without learning difficulties, particularly in an integrated geoscience course. Despite the growing demand for STEM careers, science remains challenging to understand and inaccessible to many, especially those with learning difficulties (Vavougios et al., 2016).…

The individual problem-solving (IPS) and collaborative problem-solving (CPS) have received a lot of attention, yet little research has been conducted to investigate whether CPS and IPS are equally effective in improving students' understanding of physics concepts, problem-solving abilities, and minimizing achievement gaps. Therefore, the present…

This Statistics in Brief (SiB) uses data from the 2011 and 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and explores how achievement gaps between high- and low-performing 4th- and 8th-grade students in the U.S. and other education systems have changed over time. Achievement gaps are defined as the differences in scores…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share detailed results and more fully describe the sample and methods used to produce the research brief, "COVID's Impact on Science Achievement: Trends from 2019 through 2024. We investigated three main research questions in this brief: 1) How did science achievement in 2021 and 2024 compare to…

This brief continues ongoing research by NWEA® examining the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic, and its associated school closures, influenced student learning. Prior research focused on math and reading and found that the pandemic's negative impact steadily accumulated during the 2020-2021 school year, with significant disparities in…

Rural students often face challenges in receiving high-quality education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Yet without meaningful STEM educational opportunities, rural students might not develop the knowledge and skills needed to compete in a technology-driven workforce. The Learning by Making program (LbyM), an innovative…

Science achievement gap between fifth, sixth, and eighth grades and boys and girls in low and high performing schools were under investigation in the present study. In accordance with this purpose, three schools were selected to represent high performing schools and two schools were selected to represent low achieving schools for their performance…

As science has become an integral component of today's technologically driven world, k-12 success in this subject is critical if continued American competitiveness in the global economy and workforce is to continue. An appreciable achievement gap exists in science performance, affecting racial minorities disproportionately. This reality forecasts…

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) mission is to enhance knowledge about education systems worldwide and to provide high-quality data that will support education reform and lead to better teaching and learning in schools. In pursuit of this aim, it conducts and reports on major studies of student…

Background: Large achievement and motivation gaps exist in science between students from higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Middle and high school are an important time to address these disparities, as science motivation typically declines for all students at this time, leading to particularly low science interest and…

Rising inequality in the United States has raised concerns about potentially widening gaps in educational achievement by socio-economic status (SES). Using assessments from LTT-NAEP [Long-Term Trend assessment administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress], Main-NAEP, TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study],…

This is the 21st report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2017-18 assessment data for students with disabilities "to the…