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Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute Project: Evaluation Results on Teacher Content Knowledge, Implementation Fidelity, and Student Achievement

Abstract

"The Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute (OMLI) National Science Foundation Mathematics and Science Partnership project partners are Oregon State University, Portland State University, Teachers Development Group, and ten Oregon school districts. The primary activities of the project were a sequence of three intensive three-week residential institutes emphasizing mathematics content knowledge for teaching, collegial leadership, and the building of Professional Learning Communities. Teachers at all levels of grades K-12 participated together in the mathematics content courses. By the conclusion of the third Summer Institute, teachers had shown significant improvements in mathematical content knowledge for teaching. Analysis of student achievement data in participating schools was initially inconclusive. However, once implementation fidelity traits were taken into account, a positive relationship between project participation and student achievement emerged. The degree to which schools implement the practices promoted by the OMLI project is a significant positive predictor of student performance above and beyond what can be explained by the socioeconomic factor as indicated by the percentage of students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. This relationship is particularly acute at secondary levels, but additional factors appear to be at play at elementary grade levels."