National Math and Science Initiative

NMSI’s program creates a culture of high expectations, increased opportunity, and college-readiness, especially for high-need students that can be easily replicated in a variety of settings and for a variety of students:

• For schools participating in NMSI’s program, the average first year increase in AP math, science and English qualifying scores for all students is 79%, and in math and science alone, increases are at 84%, as compared to 7% nationally. 
• The average first year increase in math, science and English qualifying scores among African American and Hispanic students is 107%, and increases in math and science are at 104% as compared to 14% nationally. 
• Average first year increases for girls in math and science are at 84% as compared to 7% nationally.

The longer NMSI’s program is in a school, the better they do. 

• The average three-year increase in qualifying scores for all students in math science and English is 137%, and increases in math and science qualifying scores alone are 164%, as compared to 24% nationally.
• The average three-year increase in math, science and English qualifying scores among African American and Hispanic students is 203% as compared to 50% nationally. The average three-year increases in qualifying AP scores in math and science alone among African American and Hispanic are at 208% as compared to 47% nationally.
• Three-year average increases in qualifying math and science scores among females is 167%, as compared to 26% nationally.

Two recent studies examined the impact of NMSI’s programs, and both found positive effects.

The Jackson Studies -- Jackson’s (2007) first study found that NMSI’s program model is associated with increased student achievement and college enrollment, as demonstrated by positive effects on AP course enrollment, SAT/ACT scores, and college matriculation for students. Further, the significant increases in these outcomes continued to increase over time.

Jackson’s (2010) research indicates that the program’s benefits extend to college enrollment, which increased by about 9% for students in the program in comparison to those who did not participate. Moreover, this study found that increases in student achievement caused by the program persist into college with particularly positive effects on college outcomes for African-American and Hispanic students. Additionally, 22% more participating students persisted in college than non-participants, indicating the program improved the overall educational attainment of participating students.

The Holtzman Study -- Results found strong, statistically significant positive impacts of NMSI’s programs on AP exam passing(scoring a 3 or higher). The percentage point differences due to the program were 0.7 for math, 0.9 for science, 2.4 for English, and 3.0 for all three subject areas combined. For the latter two, these results translate to effect sizes of approximately 0.5 (half a standard deviation). These results are notable because, while the effects on exam-taking clearly indicate that more students take AP exams in NMSI schools than in non-NMSI schools, it is also true that exam passing rates increase as well, despite the broader array of students taking the exams. Additional analyses also suggested that the increases in the percentages of students passing were partly due to the increased percentages taking the exams. This suggests the possibility that, while access is expanded by NMSI, it also offers support to help an expanded pool of students succeed.