Rennie Center Audit of Opportunities to Learn Science in Massachusetts High Schools

The Center for Science Education is conducting an audit of opportunities to learn science in a sample of Massachusetts high schools in order to answer the following research questions:

• How are opportunities to learn and succeed in science distributed across Massachusetts high schools?
• To what degree are the nature and distribution of opportunities to learn science associated with student MCAS achievement?
• Do students in a diverse set of Massachusetts districts receive equitable opportunities to learn and succeed at science?
• In schools that exceed predicted levels of achievement, what strategies and practices are central to their success?

CSE staff has conducted telephone interviews with science department chairs in order to document, among other things, the resources available, science courses offered, qualifications of the teaching staff, opportunities for staff planning and collaboration, student course selection, and additional supports available for students’ science learning. Data will be analyzed and presented in a report jointly prepared with and published by the Rennie Center.