History and Beginnings

Saint Edmund, located on Avenue T in Brooklyn, was the very first LabLearner school in the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens. It was installed on August 31st, 2016. Since this first installation of a LabLearner STEM lab and full Kindergarten-grade 8 curriculum, an amazing 38 other Diocesan elementary schools have joined the LabLearner STEM movement!

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM does not simply accentuate the basic importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across the entire precollege spectrum of grade levels, but inherent in the STEM concept is that these subjects be taught in an integrated, coordinated manner.

Consequently, the teacher needs not only grade-level understanding of the concepts, skills, and methods of each of the STEM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), but must also be able to see, understand, and teach the interrelationships between these subjects, and the strong influence they have on each other.

This is not a simple task. But there is a logical, research-based way to move forward and be successful with high quality STEM education. That way is LabLearner, and due to the foresight of its donors and leadership, the Diocese of Brooklyn is well on its way to taking a national lead in quality STEM education.

LabLearner Schools

The Problem

STEM and STEM education are widely recognized topics of interest for educators, parents, business, and governments globally. This is because success in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is directly associated with other forms of success at many levels. STEM drives economies upward. On an international level, STEM success is a common ingredient of strong and highly competitive nations. Consequently, most adults are interested in STEM and STEM education for one good reason or another – perhaps parents of schoolchildren most of all.

Out of 100 STEM occupations, 93% of them had salaries well above the national average. The average for STEM career annual salaries is $87,570, whereas the average for non-STEM jobs is roughly half that ($45,700)^{1, 2}. Add to this, projections indicating substantial future growth in STEM jobs (13% increase in STEM jobs between 2017 and 2027, compared to 9% for non- STEM jobs)^{1, 3}. Since 1990, employment in STEM fields has grown nationally by 79 percent, from 9.7 to 17.3 million⁴.

While we may care about STEM, how are our students actually doing in STEM subjects compared to their peers globally? Not very well. U.S. students placed 38th of seventy-one countries in mathematics, and only 24th in science on the Program for International Student Assessment (PIZA) exam⁵.”

Although 48% of the 2.1 million 2016 high school graduates who took the ACT exam stated an interest in STEM majors and careers, only a quarter of the students who took the test (26 %) met or surpassed the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in STEM⁷. That is, most test-takers were not prepared in the U.S. PreK-12 education system to pursue university science courses without difficulty and/or remediation.

The Solution

To avoid these abysmal numbers and improve their students’ chances of STEM success, the Diocese of Brooklyn – Dr. Tom Chadzutko (Superintendent) and Dr. Liz Frangella (Associate Superintendent for Curriculum) – began implementing the LabLearner science program in its schools. In four short years, Diocesan leadership has brought LabLearner science to 39 of its schools. Current Diocese of Brooklyn schools are shown in the list here.

LabLearner: Consistently Ahead of the Curve

LabLearner, since its inception, has operated from the school of thought that a hands-on approach best cultivates classroom science aptitude among its students. With our interactive approach and a focus on scientific concepts, LabLearner goes well beyond the expectations of science standards in laboratory skill development, metacognitive strategy development, and cross-disciplinary correlations with Common Core Math and ELA standards.

Next Generation Science Standards

From a science content perspective, LabLearner is very well aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This, in turn, results in excellent LabLearner alignment with most state science education standards since NGSS has been extensively used as a model for state standardized science tests.

CCSS Mathematics and ELA Standards

While it might be expected that LabLearner covers national and state science education standards comprehensively, it is also important the extent to which it aligns with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA).

To examine the alignment of LabLearner with NGSS and CCSS Math and ELA at each grade level from kindergarten through eighth grade, use the tabs below.

Results

Assessment and Testing

LabLearner has been in use in some 30+ states for nearly two decades. While this provides a rich archive of experience, it also presents assessment issues shared with every other educational program. This is because, not only do state science education assessments differ from one state to another, but also the assessments themselves change within any one state from time to time – often too frequently. It is therefore difficult to make clear, scientific assessments over time or between locations. This fluidity of assessments creates significant challenges in nearly all aspects of basic PreK-12 education, not just science and mathematics. This is the major reason why we are proposing section 6 of this proposal (Assessment and Continuous Improvement). Nonetheless, there are a number of current types of assessments that document LabLearner’s success wherever it is chosen as the STEM education system.

Blue Ribbon Schools

The U.S. Department of Education, National Blue Ribbon Award is one way to assess the academic impact of a curriculum or program. The Blue Ribbon is widely considered the “highest honor a school can achieve”. This is because the Blue Ribbon is not just a measure of minimal compliance or simple standardized test scores. It is a much more comprehensive assessment, involving a multiplicity of objective criteria that allows teachers, students, parents, and community representatives to assess the school’s strengths and weaknesses and develop strategic plans for the future. Based on such criteria, few schools that apply for the award even receive the mandatory site visit for Blue Ribbon consideration. Roughly only between 2 – 4% of schools have been awarded a National Blue Ribbon since the program’s founding in 1982. However, nationally, approximately 20% of LabLearner schools have achieved the Blue Ribbon award – that is five to ten times the national average!

Pre-/Post-Test Assessments

The PreK-8 LabLearner program consists of some 60-plus individual science units called Core Experience Learning Labs (CELLs). Each CELL takes approximately four or five weeks for a class to complete, working in teams of four to six students. In grades one through eight, students complete a pre-test, taken before the CELL begins and a post-test, taken at the end of the CELL.

Pre-/post-test assessments are fixed response evaluations where identical questions presented in an adjusted sequence are asked in both the pre-test and post-test documents. Questions on the pre-/post-tests reflect the science concepts taught within the investigations of a CELL. Questions require students to apply their knowledge of CELL concepts to new situations, interpret experimental results from a table, graph, or mathematical formula, and correlate experimental observations with scientific concepts.

In a study conducted with 1,268 public school students from grades one through six, student performance from pre-test to post-test in grades one through six increased by an average of 40%. Comparison of pre- and post-test scores using the Student’s Paired t-test indicated that the improvement in students’ comprehension of science and math concepts taught in the CELLs was statistically significant (p<0.0001) for CELLs in all grade levels. In addition, analysis of the scores (p<0.05) suggested that there was no statistically significant difference on pre/post-test performance based on student gender or the specific teacher facilitating the CELLs. The LabLearner curriculum itself and the LabLearner approach, is clearly the major factor for these impressive increases in science performance.

The graphic shown here is indicative of similar studies. This study illustrates the increase in student LabLearner post-test performance in grades one through eight. In general, differences in student comprehension between pre- and post-test tend to increase as students move from primary to intermediate grades. The increase in performance is maintained through the middle school grades, a time in which U.S. schools tend to demonstrate a decrease in student science comprehension. These results are typical for LabLearner schools and illustrate the significant impact of the LabLearner program on student comprehension of scientific concepts.

Standardized Science Assessments 

There is a large variety of standardized tests that U.S. public and private schools use to assess students in science. LabLearner schools across the U.S. utilize standardized tests such as the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs), the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAPs), the Standard Achievement Test 10th edition (SAT 10), the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), and many others. Representative examples of standardized science testing in LabLearner schools from across the country are briefly summarized below.

Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia, with funding provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, began incorporating LabLearner experiments into their curriculum in 2004. Prior to implementation of the LabLearner program, Loudoun students scored in the mid- to high-90th percentile on the Virginia’s Science Standards of Learning (SOL). In the nine years following the addition of the LabLearner program, Loudoun students continued to achieve consistently high SOL science scores (mid-high 90th percentile). Science supervisors within the district have indicated that not only is the LabLearner program an important component of the continued excellence of science scores on the SOLs, but it is also responsible for the increase in inquiry-based learning and experimental design seen in their students.

The Handley School in Saginaw, Michigan uses the MEAPs, the science assessments taken by all public schools in the state of Michigan, to evaluate the science proficiency of their students. In 2001, the Handley school adopted the LabLearner program. Scores from the 2004 MEAPs indicated that 67% of students at the Handley School scored as advanced in science whereas by 2008, 86% of students scored as advanced. In 2009 and 2010, the Handley School reported that 100% of its students met or exceeded levels of proficiency in science as compared to the state average of 78%. Finally, in 2017, with the LabLearner lab forming the base of the elementary science program, Handley School was awarded the National Blue Ribbon for excellence in education.

The Wood Acres School in Marietta, Georgia began implementing the LabLearner program in 2006. Wood Acres students score at 92% in the science Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10), a test whose normed average is 50%.

The Wood Acres School emphasizes that the LabLearner program provides a “science-math connection that is strong throughout the program and provides students with the tools to become independent researchers with problem-based projects.”

Blessed Sacrament School in Burlington, North Carolina began implementing the LabLearner program in 2006 as well. Blessed Sacrament assesses student learning outcomes in all subject domains using the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Blessed Sacrament consistently scores in the upper 20% nationally in Science. In 2012, for example, students achieved a National Percentile Rank of 83%. The figure to the right shows a longitudinal analysis of ITBS score improvement during the first three years of LabLearner implementation for a 4th grade cohort. Notice that while improvements occurred during the first year of the program (5th grade versus 4th grade results), the greatest progress occurred after 3 years of LabLearner implementation (7th grade results). This is typical of LabLearner standardized test scores, likely as the result of the spiraling nature of the LabLearner curriculum.

St. Patrick’s NYS Test Scores

The impact of any new academic program takes some time to be felt. We have only recently begun to obtain data from the Diocese of Brooklyn schools. The St. Patrick Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn implemented LabLearner for the 2017 school year. The dramatic increase in standardized NYS scores shown below was taken directly from the homepage of their website – the results speak for themselves.

Listen to the Experts

Sometimes the best way to really find out how well an academic program works is simply by talking to teachers, principals, and administrators in schools that use it. By this criteria, LabLearner excels like few other programs. Below is an example communication from a teacher expressing the opinion and support typical of the LabLearner program. Additional testimonials from LabLearner principals, teachers, and students can be read at the bottom of this and other pages.

Public Relations

Meetings and Conferences 

Since 2017 there have been a number of national meetings and conventions of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) in which talks featuring work in the Diocese of Brooklyn have been featured. Some of the major talks are highlighted below: