Boston University is conducting a Phase 2: Research and Evaluation project to analyze the outcomes of two Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship programs in mathematics, one running from 2007 to 2012 and the other from 2009 to 2015 in collaboration with Math for America Boston. The 48 graduates of the programs are the subjects of a mixed-methods longitudinal study that examines the effectiveness and quality of their teaching and their retention in the high-need schools where they are initially assigned. Effectiveness is analyzed from samples of instructional materials and student work, focusing on the cognitive demands of the assigned tasks. Comparison groups include alumni from BU's other mathematics education programs; members of the Teach for America Boston corps, who take several education courses at BU and are granted expedited licensure; and mathematics teachers trained in other programs who are teaching in the same schools as the Noyce Scholars. This evaluation effort is totally external to the Noyce Scholarship programs themselves and so offers an unbiased view of their effectiveness. The study design includes faculty from the School of Education and a biostatistician from the School of Public Health. The results, to be widely disseminated, are of interest not only to education researchers but to policy makers and the teacher education community.
