Data Analysis and Evaluation of McGraw Hill's Inspire Science Program in New York City Schools

The study evaluates the impact of McGraw-Hill’s Inspire Science curriculum on middle school science performance in New York City public schools. The program was implemented in two boroughs starting in the 2018-19 school year, focusing on eighth-grade students. The evaluation compares outcomes between schools using Inspire Science and demographically matched schools employing other curricula. Charter schools and high schools were excluded to ensure validity. The study analyzed data from 132 matched schools, with 77 schools enrolling students who took science Regents Examinations.  

A quasi-experimental design was employed, using coarsened exact matching to control for enrollment, economic disadvantage, special education status, and English language learner status. Statistical methods included one-way ANOVA and effect size calculations. Outcomes examined were performance on two Regents Examinations: Living Environment (LE) and Physical Settings/Earth Science (ES).  

Results showed that students in Inspire Science schools performed significantly better on the LE Regents Exam, with higher mean scores (78.76 vs. 73.60), and greater proportions scoring 65 or above (83.35% vs. 73.81%) and 80 or above (57.29% vs. 47.69%). Effect sizes ranged from 0.19 to 0.47 (p < .001). Conversely, students in matched comparison schools outperformed Inspire Science students on the ES Regents Exam, with higher mean scores (78.77 vs. 65.80) and greater proportions scoring 65 or above (83.37% vs. 53.44%) and 80 or above (56.46% vs. 29.84%). Effect sizes ranged from 0.56 to 1.14 (p < .001).  

Limitations include small sample sizes for the ES Regents Exam and the inability to analyze subgroup outcomes for English language learners, students with disabilities, and students of color.