PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new evaluation report released by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) this week provides strong evidence that the GE Foundation Developing Futures™ in Education program significantly contributed to improvements in student performance in four districts: Jefferson County, KY; Cincinnati, OH; Stamford, CT; and Erie, PA.
The Developing Futures™ in Education program was created to raise student achievement through improved mathematics and science curricula and management capacity in schools. The program was recently expanded with a grant investment of over $200 million.
“The analysis of nearly a decade of data demonstrates that the Developing Futures™ program has had a significant positive impact on students’ mathematics scores in participating districts,” said Dr. Jonathan Supovitz, CPRE’s co-director. “The results of this study in particular make a compelling case that improvements are directly attributable to education reform efforts driven by GE Foundation.”
GE Foundation support began in Jefferson County, KY in the 2005-06 school year; Cincinnati, OH and Stamford, CT in the 2006-07 school year; and Erie, PA in the 2007-08 school year. In Cincinnati, Jefferson County, and Stamford, the introduction of the GE Foundation support marked the beginning of significant gains on end-of-year state test performance. In Erie, the introduction of the GE Foundation initiatives marked the stabilization of prior downward trends in mathematics performance throughout the district.
While the specific efforts in each district were different due to district needs, the overall picture of GE Foundation support in the four districts shows a clear and reinforcing pattern of positive student mathematics outcomes associated with the work in the districts during the time of their partnership with the GE Foundation.
“One of the biggest challenges facing the United States is that the current education system does not adequately support long-term competitiveness,” said Bob Corcoran, President of the GE Foundation. “GE is committed to bolstering math and science education in our schools, and we are pleased to be able to share these positive results from the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.”
Report authors Philip Sirinides, Jonathan Supovitz, Namrata Tognatta, and Henry May conducted the evaluation using student records over a period of up to 10 years in order to analyze performance trends both before and after the GE Foundation began working with the districts, using a technique called an interrupted time series design.
CPRE has conducted the external evaluation of the Developing Futures™ in Education program for the GE Foundation since 2010. In addition to this study, CPRE is conducting additional Developing Futures™ evaluations of district support for the improvement of teaching and learning, as well as Common Core implementation and impacts. Forthcoming reports will be available at cpre.org/df.
Download the report “The Impact of the GE Foundation Developing Futures™ in Education Program on Mathematics Performance Trends in Four Districts” at cpre.org/df.
About CPRE
Since 1985, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) has brought together renowned experts from major research universities to improve elementary and secondary education by bridging the gap between educational policy and student learning. CPRE researchers employ a range of rigorous and innovative research methods to investigate pressing problems in education today. Having earned an international reputation for quality research and evaluation, CPRE researchers have extensive experience conducting experimental studies, large-scale quasi-experimental research, qualitative studies, and multi-state policy surveys.
CPRE’s member institutions are the University of Pennsylvania, Teachers College Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Northwestern University.
About GE Foundation
The GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of GE, works to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems. With its partners, the GE Foundation focuses its efforts in the areas of health, education, the environment and disaster relief. In 2012, the GE family invested more than $219 million to global community and educational needs. For more information, visit www.gefoundation.com.
