National Science Foundation

Funding from the National Science Foundation (2000 - 2005; NSF ISE # 9911630) allowed researchers at University of Rochester to:

1. Define the curriculum in writing
2. Pilot it in classrooms with new teachers who had not been involved in its creation
3. Assess learning for a larger and more varied sample of children

A five-module curriculum suitable for daily use was defined and reviewed/approved by content specialists (faculty at University of Rochester from engineering, biology, and laser energetics). Teachers who had not been involved in creating ScienceStart! found it easy to use in the classroom and were often surprised at how much their students could learn. Compared to preschoolers in the same schools who did not use ScienceStart!, children in ScienceStart! classrooms showed significant gains in vocabulary over the course of the school year.

Department of Education, 2001-2004

Funding from the US Department of Education's Early Childhood Educators' Professional Development Program (2001-2004; ED S349A01071) allowed researchers at University of Rochester to use ScienceStart! with a much larger sample of teachers (approximately 50). In Year One, some teachers used ScienceStart! and others received professional development on how to promote the development of language and literacy skills during preschool. Only those children in the ScienceStart! classrooms showed statistically significant gains in vocabulary. In Year Two, all teachers used ScienceStart! and their students again made significant gains in vocabulary.

Department of Education, 2004-2007

Funding from the US Department of Education's Early Reading First Program (2004 - 2007: ED S359B040093) allowed researchers at University of Rochester to partner with 13 preschool classrooms in four urban schools operated by the Diocese of Rochester. The students in these classrooms were primarily African-American and qualified for free or reduced lunch. This project included extensive professional development and in-class mentoring for teachers. The basic ScienceStart! curriculum was supplemented with written guidelines for intentional instruction in oral language and comprehension, print awareness, phonological awareness, and alphabet knowledge.

A number of instruments were used to assess children's progress during the first year of this project; statistically significant improvement was found on virtually all these instruments. Because the funding for this project was not available until well into the school year, the "beginning of the school year" data was collected in November, only 6 or 7 months before the "end of the year" assessments. This makes all the improvements from the "beginning" to the end of the school year all the more remarkable.

The description of the findings are organized from the more global (vocabulary) to the very specific (alliteration):

Receptive Vocabulary (PPVT)

Knowledge of the Alphabet

Get Ready to Read

Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI)