Project Inquiry: Effects of Professional Development on Science Achievement
Carol Tempel
Charleston and Berkeley County schools study
May 2003
Report on 2001-2002 evaluation of the Local Systemic Change Initiative (LSC). Charleston and Berkeley schools received a grant from the National Science Foundation for the 2000-2005 project which focuses on the improvement of science literacy by changing teaching practices, strengthening teacher content knowledge and providing hands-on science materials for classrooms. This evaluation was an investigation of the relationship between components of teacher instruction and student achievement in science.
http://www.ccsdschools.com/administration/assessment/PIpage.html

The Academic Excellence for All Urban Students
April 2001
Since 1993, the National Science Foundation’s Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) program has been a catalyst for large-scale systemic change directed towards improving the science and mathematics achievement of ALL urban students. This report presents preliminary findings from an evaluative study of NSF’s USI program among 22 large urban school districts. NSF’s Six Drivers of Systemic Reform provided a framework for USI implementation, focusing on standards-based curriculum and instruction, aligned assessment, policies, professional development, convergence of resources, leadership, and partnerships.
http://www.systemic.com/pdfs/Booklet.pdf

Effectiveness Studies:

The Effect of Inquiry-based Science Teaching on Standardized Reading Scores
Jerry D. Valadez
March 2001
Study results include the fact that students using FOSS for 4 years scored higher on SAT9 reading and science tests than students with less or no exposure to FOSS.
http://sustainability2002.terc.edu/invoke.cfm/page/143

Hands-On Science and Student Achievement  
Allen Ruby
2001  
Dissertation that discusses the limitations on research done in the past, to seek a connection between hands-on science and student ability.
http://www.rand.org/publications/RGSD/RGSD159/  

Helping English Language Learners Increase Achievement Through Inquiry-Based Science Instruction
Michael Klentschy
July 2002 Billingual Research Journal vol. 26  
Study outlining how hands-on science can benefit students from lower socioeconomic and rural backgrounds.  The study also shows that there are trends that the program stimulates writing experiences that transfers to an overall improvement in writing.
Click here for the article.    

Valle Imperial Project in Science (VIPS) Four-Year Comparison of Student Achievement Data (1995-1999)  
Michael Klentschy  
1999
Achievement in science, language arts and math correlated to hands-on science curricula.
Click here for the article.