Evaluations & Recognition

Evaluations

Throughout its history, repeated independent evaluations have shown that Project SEED instruction has a powerful positive effect on student achievement at all levels, particularly the upper elementary grades. Similar results were obtained in studies conducted at a variety of Project SEED sites by a variety of evaluators dating back to the late sixties.

A 2004 report to the U.S. Congress by a blue ribbon panel of BEST and AIR evaluated 200 well-known math and science programs. Project SEED and only one other program received the highest rating reported.

A national study covered five school districts: Camden, NJ, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis and West Contra Costa. Using standardized test scores from each of the five districts, Dr. William Webster found that the mathematics achievement of Project SEED students was significantly higher than that of a matched comparison group who did not receive Project SEED instruction. The results were consistent over several grade levels and used five different standardized tests: the California Achievement Test, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, the Metropolitan Achievement Test, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, and the Stanford Achievement Test.

Perhaps the most unique study was a longitudinal evaluation conducted over a 12-year period. This study, which included students with up to three semesters of Project SEED instruction in grades 4, 5, and 6, showed that the impact on mathematics achievement was:

• Immediate - Project SEED students outscored a matched comparison group after as little as one semester of instruction.
• Cumulative - The rate of growth of Project SEED students versus comparison students increased for each semester of SEED instruction.
• Persistent - When scores of SEED students and comparison students were compared five years after the students' last exposure to Project SEED, the SEED students scores on standardized mathematics tests were still higher than those of the comparison students. Moreover, Project SEED students took more advanced mathematics courses in secondary school than did the comparison students and were required to repeat a grade less often than the comparison students.

Project SEED has been evaluated not only for the effects of its instruction but also for the quality of its pedagogy. Dr. Glenn Latham, of the University of Utah, was amazed at what he observed during Project SEED lessons. He reported that "the time on task was very high, and the ratio of positive interactions to student response opportunities was very favorable, about 1 positive interaction for every 3 response opportunities. That is simply remarkable by any measure."

Evaluation of Project SEED's professional development for teachers has also been consistently positive. In one instance, Project SEED trained over a thousand teachers in Dallas and over 95% of those participants rated this training as effective, very effective or extremely effective.

Recognition

Articles about Project SEED have appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, Education Week, The National School Board Journal, and hundreds of other publications. Project SEED has been featured on CNN, the CBS Early Show and numerous local broadcasts.

Books that feature Project SEED as an exemplary or model program for African American and Latino youth include:

• Young, Gifted and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African-American Students, Theresa Perry, Claude Steele, Asa Hilliard III, 2003
• Show Me the Evidence, Robert Slavin and Olatokunbo Fashola, 1998
• Teaching Diverse Populations, Etta Hollins, Joyce King, & W. Hayman, 1994
• Breaking The Barriers, Beatrice Chu Clewell, Bernice Taylor Anderson, & Margaret E. Thorpe, 1992
• Reaching All Students with Mathematics, Gilbert Cuevas & Mark Driscoll, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1993

Because of Project SEED's reputation and experience, Project SEED's National Director and CEO, Hamid Ebrahimi was invited to testify at a US House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on "Programs That Work" in public education. He also was asked to speak before the US Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about Project SEED and the urgent needs of forgotten students.

In addition, Project SEED was included as one of the select programs in the US Department of Education's list of "What Works for Latino Students" and in Educational Programs That Work, the book listing programs validated by the Department of Education's National Diffusion Network's Program Effectiveness Panel. The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education featured Project SEED at a national conference and included Project SEED on a nationally distributed CD-ROM of excellent educational programs.