Measuring the Efficacy and Student Achievement of Research-based Instructional Materials in High School Multidisciplinary Science

  • Cluster-randomized trial to examine the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary high school science program
  • 25 participating schools in the state of Washington
  • Funding source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Educational Sciences

In 2007, BSCS launched a five-year randomized control study that is testing the effectiveness of the multi-disciplinary program BSCS Science: An Inquiry Approach. Participating schools were randomly assigned for grade nine students to use the BSCS materials, or to continue for one year with business-as-usual science instruction. The latter group serves as a comparison, or counterfactual group. The scale of the work spans 25 schools, more than 80 teachers, and more than 5,000 high school students. Results will be aggregated and compared between the treatment and comparison conditions using annual and longitudinal measures. Measures at the teacher level will be used to test the extent to which factors such as instructional practice are mediating variables on the main-level effect.

The main research questions of the trial are:

  • Do research-based instructional materials in multidisciplinary science increase achievement in science for all students?
  • Does the level of teacher fidelity of implementation affect student achievement?

For more information, contact BSCS Science Educator Steve Getty.