NURTURES: Longitudinal Summary of Project Impact on Students' Mathematics, Reading, & Science Learning
Gale A. Mentzer; Peter Paprzycki (2024). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED641334
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examining6,759Students, gradesK-5
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: March 2024
- Grant Competition (findings for Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ohio State Standardized Test - Reading |
Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES) vs. Business as usual |
2 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ohio State Standardized Test - Math |
Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES) vs. Business as usual |
2 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ohio Achievement Science Subtest |
Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES) vs. Business as usual |
2 Years |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
Yes |
|
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 47%
Male: 53% -
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Ohio
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Race Other or unknown 100% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 65% Other or unknown 35%
Study Details
Setting
This study was conducted in 41 public elementary schools from the Toledo Public School District located in Toledo, Ohio.
Study sample
The study included a total of 6,759 students (2,801 in the intervention group and 3,958 in the comparison group) from 41 participating elementary schools. These schools were reported to be racially diverse and 65 percent of students received free or reduced-price lunch. The only other demographics reported were for the grade 5 science sample, which included 1,588 students (434 intervention, 1,154 comparison). More than half (53%) were males and 61 percent self-identified as a minority. No other information was reported.
Intervention Group
The Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES) project is a teacher professional development, curriculum, and family/caregiver intervention with a goal of increasing student interest in STEM learning and inquiry-based science teaching. Teachers participate in a 2-week Summer Institute and receive coaching support and participation in professional learning communities during the school year. Families receive science inquiry packets (sent home from school) four times a year and attend community STEM events.
Comparison Group
The comparison condition was considered business as usual and these students were taught by teachers who did not participate in the NURTURES professional development program at any point during the study.
Support for implementation
The intervention included a Summer Institute, academic year professional development, and coaching.
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: October 2020
- Grant Competition (findings for Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Does not meet WWC standards because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups do not satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Study sample characteristics were not reported.An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
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The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
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Study findings for this report.
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Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).