STEM Workforce Development 
STEM Learning and Learning Environments 
Broadening Participation in STEMPromoting Equity in State Systems of Science Education
Effective Years: 2018-2020
The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This conference will provide a venue for state science coordinators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories and their teams to learn about tools and practices that will help them identify, analyze, and adapt resources that shape educational opportunities in science co-designed through the Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education project (ACESSE). These resources will help state science coordinators develop a clearer vision for addressing equity through the design of formative assessment tasks that elicit understanding of science as well as students' relevant interest, experiences, and identities. As such, conference participants will undertake the following. (1) Engage in rehearsals with resources related to equity in assessment. (2) Participate in systems mapping activities focused on identifying inequities of opportunity and leverage points for improving equity. (3) Develop equity-focused aim statements grounded in analyses of their systems. (4) Adapt practical measures focused on student perceptions of relevance affective experience, and identification with classroom activities to gauge progress toward equity goals. With limited research on state leadership in science education, this effort will help fill that void as more responsibilities for education shift to states.
The conference will allow attendees to draw on data about how state systems of assessment support classroom learning. It will provide opportunities for testing organizational strategies for continuous improvement through state-level teams that involve professional development providers and representatives from organizations that advocates for underrepresented groups (e. g., Latinx, African American, and Native American or Native Alaskan students; migrant students; and students whose first language is not English). Representatives from intermediary organizations, such as the National Science Teachers Association and Achieve, Inc, will be invited to join the effort in support roles to be a voice for teachers and provide independent reviews of curriculum and assessment resources as well as participate in follow-up activities that nurture new research-practice partnerships among science leaders, practitioners, and researchers. Outcomes from the conference include helping researchers advance understanding about how to support state coordinators in using proven practices to promote equity through formative assessment, providing state coordinators with knowledge and skills to build better networks and benefit from research+practice partnerships efforts, and providing resources for making progress towards achievement of local equity goals more likely. Results and co-designed resources will be disseminated through multiple channels including participating entities, intermediary organizations, researchers, the STEM Teaching Tools website, and the Council of State Science Supervisors. Further sharing will be facilitated through a Google-based ACESSE Dashboard and Twitter (@ACESSE_Project).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
