The success of these programs can be measured by examining the number of schools, teachers, and students adopting these programs, by the performance of students on End of Course (EOC) exams, and by the effect of CTL professional development on teacher attitudes.

School and Teacher Adoption

While the PMI and PSI programs have garnered international recognition, these programs have begun to spread to educators across the United States as well as abroad in Argentina. Dozens of schools are embracing this paradigm shift by adopting PMI and/or PSI. The map below shows more than 50 schools CTL knows are implementing its programs, however this resembles only a fraction of the teachers and students using CTL courseware; there are more than 6,000 unique visitors and 700 registered teachers coming to NJCTL.org every month across the entire world.  Based on these numbers, there are more schools and teachers adopting CTL curricula.

PSI Results

The 1995 Trends in Math & Science Study (TIMSS) results in math and physics reflected both a problem and a solution to that problem. While TIMSS revealed that the United States ranked poorly internationally, students who took and failed the Advanced Placement (AP) Physics test outperformed about 50% of the nations tested.  Further, students who passed the AP Physics test (3, 4, or 5) outperformed all other nations.  This reveals that AP tests in mathematics and science are rigorous standards that could hold the key to improving mathematics and science in the United States.  Therefore, PSI strives to increase 1) participation in AP sciences, and 2) passing rates on AP science exams.

In the school where PSI began, Bergen County Technical Schools in Teterboro, performance on Advanced Placement (AP) Science tests grew dramatically. By 2009, students were taking AP Physics B at twenty two times the state average and passing it at twenty four times the state average (y-axis in the chart below). Results are shown below for all sciences at the school through 2009. More information about these results and the corresponding study by Dr. Robert Goodman, can be found in his dissertation, which received the 2006 Delta Xi Award for outstanding dissertation award.

Download Dr. Robert Goodman’s dissertation on PSI:  ”A New High School Science Program and Its Effect on Student Achievement in Mathematics and Science”

Download an article on PSI published in the journal, “The Physics Teacher”

During the first year of PSI implementation beyond Teterboro, one third of students polled in PSI schools had an interest in taking AP Physics B in the next academic year. In 2010-11, many of those students were being given the opportunity to take AP Physics B while also continuing into Chemistry.  This year, AP Physics B participation has grown substantially.  Using data from NJ School Report Card, and AP enrollment from PSI schools, CTL estimates that PSI schools dominates the top schools in New Jersey for AP Physics B participation.

While AP performance is not publicly available for all schools, CTL is actively pursuing this data.

Download the 2009-2010 evaluation done by an independent researcher.

An additional design feature with the PSI sequence is its alignment with mathematics, and in particular, the alignment between Algebra and Algebra-Based Physics.  In 2009-10, Newark Public Schools students taking PSI Physics outperformed their peers by 14% on the American Diploma Project End of Course Algebra assessment.  Read more

PMI Results

PMI is based on the same program philosophy and research done by Dr. Robert Goodman in his study of PSI (see his dissertation here). The curriculum for PMI, originally designed to support success in algebra, now spans K-12. While K-5 and much of high school mathematics are being piloted this year, several middle schools have been piloting the algebra content for several years as it has been developed. Using the America Diploma Project – EOC test to measure the performance of the program, CTL has seen improvement in the participation and performance in algebra at these schools.