Appalachian Mathematics Science Partnership (AMSP) 2003-2004 Evaluation Report
Abstract
"One of the roles of evaluation is to help conceptualize the project as
an investment in educational improvement. This conceptualization must,
of course, be congruent with the overall design characteristics of the
initiative. That is, a project funded under the MSP initiative will
look very different from, say, an State Systemic Initiative or a Local
Systemic Change project. But the project must also be conceptualized in
a way that makes sense for the local context it is working within.
Hence all NSF funded projects represent an investment that bridges the
gap between the NSF initiative design guidelines and the local
capacities and needs that comprise the reality of the landscape within
which the project must work.
In this report Inverness Research seeks to help both the NSF site visit
team as well the project itself conceptualize the investment in a way
that makes sense for the both initiative and the local reality. More
specifically, they conceptualize partnership as a generative structure
that supports the development of local working partnerships. The AMSP
partnership is large -- 9 institutes of higher education and 51 school
districts -- but the conceptualization here may nonetheless be useful
for other MSPs." -- Mark St. John, July 2004.