1. STEM Education in Urban Settings
Understanding Realities,
Imagining Possibilities
Liza Herzog
Director of Research
Philadelphia Education Fund

2. Philadelphia Education Fund
One of 75+ local education funds across the country that make up the Public Education Network
Mission is to improve public education
Improve secondary (6-12) education
Increase access to, and through, college
Position Philadelphia region as central to regional and national dialogue
In our 27th year working with the District and region
Core lines of work: teaching and learning, research, college access/success, civic engagement

3. STEM Market Outlook
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

4. Science, Math and Engineering: National Picture
STEM Bachelor’s Degrees by Race,
Across ethnic groups, the number of earned bachelor’s has steadily increased since 2000.
*Includes all engineering; mathematics; computer, natural & physical sciences.

5. Degree Aspirations/Degrees Earned
Gap Between Degree Intentions and Degree Earned, Esp in Engineering
Source: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, Survey of the American Freshman, 2011.

6. NAEP—A National Yardstick
Largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what our students know and can do in various subjects
Congressionally mandated; administered by NCES
Math, reading, science, and writing, grades 4 and 8, reported at the state level
Results are also reported for select large urban districts every other year

7. NAEP Math: How We Measure Up
4th grade students
8th Grade Students
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

8. NAEP Math: Achievement Gap
4th Grade Students, Phila
8th Grade Students, Phila
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

9. NAEP Science: How We Measure Up
4th Grade Students, 2009
8th Grade Students, 2009
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

10. NAEP Science: Achievement Gap
4th Grade Students, Phila
8th Grade Students, Phila
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

11. NAEP Math: Philadelphia/Other Cities
Achievement Levels, 4th Grade
Achievement Levels, 8th Grade
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2012.

12. NAEP Science: Philadelphia/Other Cities
Achievement-level Results, 4th Graders
Achievement-level Results, 8th Graders
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

13. Ed Fund CAP Program: AP Enrollment
*Across twelve neighborhood high
schools in Philadelphia
Source: derived from data provided by the School District of Philadelphia.

14. Ed Fund Scholars Program: STEM Majors
33% of the Ed Fund’s 286 current college scholarship recipients are STEM majors.
Source: National Student Clearinghouse, 2012.

15. District Math and Science Teachers: STEM Majors
Just 47% of math and science teachers teaching in the School District of Philadelphia in SY10-11 majored in a STEM subject in college
STEM Undergrad Major?
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Yes
585
44%
53% No
511
39%
47%
Major Not Provided
226
17%
Source: derived from data provided by the School District of Philadelphia, SY10-11.

16. District Math and Science Teachers: Teacher Experience
In SY10-11, 46% of math and science teachers had 5 or fewer years of experience, compared to District-wide average of 38%
M+S Teachers
All Teachers
Years of Experience N
Percent
Valid Percent
0-2 years
387
29%
34%
1895
23%
27%
3-5 years
137
10%
12%
763 9%
11%
6-10 years
209
16%
18%
1342
19%
11-20 years
249
22%
1743
21%
25%
21+ years
162
14%
1351
Missing
174
13%
1297
Focus need to be paid to underperforming schools…both in terms of teacher support and student achievement
Source: derived from data provided by the School District of Philadelphia, SY10-11.

17. District Math and Science Teachers: Experience by School Performance

18. Ed Fund Role? Efforts to Improve STEM Education
Lead partner to 50+ organizations across K-20 education, business, nonprofits
Focus on STEM teacher recruitment, support, retention
Math + Science Coalition
STEM-focused teacher preparation program
100% Residents hired in high-need District and charter schools
Philadelphia Teacher Residency
5-yr partnership between neighborhood high schools and IHEs
Quarterly instructional rounds based on medical model have led to changes in pedagogical practice and curriculum
Philadelphia Postsecondary Success Program
Long-term collaboration between City of Philadelphia, K-20, research organizations, nonprofits, other stakeholders
Ed Fund serves on College Completion, Workforce Readiness & Data Work teams
Mayor’s Council for College and Career Readiness
Led Teacher Equity Platform
Ran teacher Effectiveness Campaign
Regularly convene education stakeholders for Ed First Compact
Civic Engagement
Conduct independent research on teacher effectiveness, math course taking, use of data to design interventions, teacher networks (forthcoming)
Research

19. Entry Points for IHEs Partners Schools Students
University Outreach to:
Schools
Get to know schools and neighborhoods
Expand ways in which faculty work with pre-service STEM teachers
Establish & strengthen connections between funding opportunities and school needs
Partners
Funders
Faith-based organizations
Nonprofits (eg Ed Fund, City Year)
Learning institutions (eg Academy of Natural Sciences)
Business community
Districts/State
Parents/Community
Regularly participate in Parent University
Host on-campus events to prepare adults to interact with their kids about STEM Establish neighborhood anchors
Students
Strengthen articulation agreements
Expand degree and/or certificate programs Broaden exposure to and experience with STEM workforce

20. Reimagining STEM Teaching and Learning
Teacher preparation Aligning College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education
Pre-service teaching Integrating coursework and fieldwork
Teacher recruitment Coordinating employers with teacher pipelines
Teacher retention
Bridging HR and PD
Tenure criteria
Differentiating teacher tenure

21. Contact Information
Liza Herzog Director of Research Don McKinney Director, Math Science Coalition Diana Campbell Director, Philadelphia Teacher Residency