Systemic Reform: Policy and Evaluation
Team Leaders: William H. Clune and Norman L. Webb
Project
goal: The
NISE's Policy and Evaluation Team studies systemic reform of science,
mathematics, engineering and technology education and examine related topics.
The policy perspective focuses on details of the causal sequences in the system,
while the evaluation perspective focuses on producing stable measurements of
relevant system attributes over time. Work has led to a new theory of systemic
reform which has been tested empirically and found to be useful for guiding both
research and practice. Work has also led to an expanded and specific elaboration
of the concept of alignment which has proven useful for both designers and
evaluators of systemic reform.
The
lines of work continue in a study of systemic reform in Milwaukee Public
Schools. With funding from the Joyce Foundation and the Helen Bader Foundation,
this research seeks to generate useful knowledge and recommendations for policy
in the district, to allow impartial observers and system managers to understand
the school system and its performance at a deeper level, and to impart data
management tools and analytical capacity to the district so that it can assume
these responsibilities, after some time.
Products:
In addition to the 1999 NISE Forum on Evaluation of Systemic Reform in
Mathematics and Science, the 1997 NISE Forum on the topic of policy and
evaluation in systemic reform resulted in a set of papers identifying important
issues and a synthesis paper of the think pieces that the participants submitted
around the central issues. Two books are in progress: One book captures progress
made in developing a theory of successful systemic reform; a second book,
Evaluating Systemic Reform in
Mathematics and Science, describes the challenges in evaluating systemic
reform and systemic initiatives and how these challenges can be addressed in
doing evaluations.
Fellows: Jeanne Rose Century, Norma Davila, and Paul LeMahieu
NISE Publications of the Systemic Reform Team
NISE-Related Publications of the Systemic Reform Team
National Institute for Science Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Copyright (c) 1999. The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. All Rights
Reserved.
Please send comments to: uw-wcer@education.wisc.edu
Last
Updated: May 05, 2003