By the time people earn physics PhDs, they have learned a great deal about physics and how research is conducted. However, physics PhDs also develop skills and knowledge in a number of related areas, such as advanced mathematics, programming, modeling, and technical writing. Physics PhDs draw upon an arsenal of skills and knowledge in their…

This report describes a project that uses existing data sets to describe the population of students with significant cognitive disabilities and known or suspected dual sensory loss. It includes students with suspected dual sensory loss because students with significant cognitive disabilities are reported to have unidentified sensory loss (Erickson…

The Office of Shared Accountability conducted an evaluation of the implementation of the third and final year (2012-2013) of the "Science, Technology, and Engineering Leadership Program" (STELP) in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). Funding for STELP, including the evaluation study, is provided by a grant from the Howard…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the longitudinal kindergarten-second grade (K-2) data file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). It mainly provides information specific to the second-grade rounds of data collection. Users should refer to the "Early Childhood…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the longitudinal kindergarten-fourth grade (K-4) public-use data file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), which includes the first release of the public version of the third-grade data. This manual mainly provides information specific…

In this study, an interactive process in a Web-based learning environment was planned for the cultivation of students' cooperative learning skills and capacity for scientific inquiry. Based on detailed analyses of students' computer protocols, interview protocols, and test scores, this project sought to analyze the changes in students' scientific…

Science laboratory activities within secondary science have traditionally followed prescriptive outlines both in the structure and reporting of the activity. Building on current understandings of writing to learn science strategies, a Science Writing Heuristic has been developed that encourages students to examine laboratory activities much more…

The Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (TRE) study was designed to demonstrate and explore innovative use of computers for developing, administering, scoring, and analyzing the results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. Two scenarios (Search and Simulation) were created for measuring problem solving…

In 1996, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessed the knowledge and skills of students in the areas of earth science, life science, and physical science. It also collected information related to the background of students (grades 4, 8, and 12), their teachers (grades 4 and 8), and the schools they attended (grades 4, 8, and…