Background and Mission
The National Science Resources Center was established in 1985 by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academies to improve the learning and teaching of science for all students in the United States and throughout the world. The prestige and credibility of these two world-renowned institutions provide the center with access to research, scientific expertise, and resources to inform its work; they also provide the center with the unique opportunity to catalyze the reform of science education with leaders representing school districts, academic institutions, businesses, museums, foundations, government agencies, scientific and engineering societies, publishers of science education resources and nonprofit organizations working to improve K-16 science education.

When the center was established two years after release of the report "A Nation at Risk" from the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), less than one percent of the school districts in the country had established research-based science education programs. Through its leadership development work, the center has engaged more than 1,200 school districts, which enroll an estimated 28 percent of the nation's K-12 student population. These districts have adopted processes to initiate and sustain science education programs based on research and best practices.

The center's staff and its National Advisory Board, together with the parent institutions, are committed to building upon past accomplishments and ensuring that its goals for universal science literacy are achieved to the highest quality standards.

Funding for the center comes from a variety of sources. The Smithsonian and the National Academies provide partial support for core center operations. The remaining support for its operations and all program activities is from gifts and government agency grants, private foundations, corporations and individuals, as well as registration fees for the center's events and publication sales.

Goals
The center's long-term goals are to develop and deliver a comprehensive program of services that accomplishes the following:

• Informs more than 5,000 leaders representing the scientific and education communities about current research and best practices needed to reform K-16 science education in the nation


• Builds leadership for science education reform with school district leaders, representing an additional 20 percent of the country's K-12 student population


• Stimulates research and evaluation that continuously improves and advances this work

Theory of Action
Programs designed to accomplish center goals are grounded in the center's Theory of Action. This theory is based on the need for leaders to understand the relevant research and best practices. After developing a shared vision of effective science learning and teaching, participants in the center's programs learn to implement a systemic approach for improving K-12 science education programs and learn about high-quality products and services that they can use to move from initiating a program to sustaining it.

Strategic Approaches
The center achieves its goals through programs delivered by four integrated Centers of Excellence. These programs significantly improve public understanding of effective K-16 science education programs with leaders representing education, business, and government; build leadership capacity for science-education reform locally, statewide, across regions, nationally and internationally; and improve the quality of science instruction by developing a suite of professional development opportunities for science teachers. The programs also disseminate research-based science instructional materials that enable students to learn important concepts in the life, earth and physical sciences; develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills; and maintain positive attitudes about science and the natural world.

Evidence of Impact
Delaware is one of several states (Washington, Pennsylvania, Alabama, etc.) that exemplifies the effectiveness of the center's leadership development program in transforming state science-education programs.

Delaware's size is comparable to one of the nation's larger school districts. The statewide student body is economically and ethnically diverse: 44 percent are members of minority groups and 34 percent live in poverty. In 1996, Delaware began a statewide science-education reform program that included a partnership with the National Science Resources Center. The reform work began in elementary sciences and has gradually moved to the middle and high school levels during the past decade.

Between 1997 and 2001, every school district in Delaware attended a center Science Education Strategic Planning Institute and developed a five-year strategic plan for reforming its K-8 science-education programs. The plans were based on the center's Science Education Reform Model. Using this model, the state developed a technical assistance infrastructure to help the districts implement research-based instructional programs. This infrastructure included sustained professional development programs for teachers and state tests that aligned with state standards and research-based instructional materials.

Results of state tests during the past six years provide evidence that Delaware is closing the achievement gap, beginning in grade four. At grade four, the percentage of students meeting the statewide science standards increased from 80 percent in 2000 to 90 percent in 2006 for all ethnic groups. African-American and Hispanic students' performance increased from 73 percent in 2000 to 87 percent in 2006.

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