Assessing the Effect of Using a Science-Enhanced Curriculum to Improve Agriculture Students' Science Scores: A Causal Comparative Study

The academic skills of today's teenagers are diminishing, and are a cause for concern. One of the academic areas in need of improvement is science. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to determine the effect that a science-enhanced, curriculum would have on students' achievement in science. The population for this study consisted of students in secondary agricultural education programs whose instructors held a science credential in Oklahoma during the 2009-2010 school year and were selected by state staff in the Agricultural Education Division of the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Department to teach the science-enhanced, curriculum. In addition, 10 equally credentialed instructors formed a purposeful comparison group and were selected according to specific variables (e.g., similarity of students' SES status) for equivalency purposes. The findings of this study revealed that a statistically significant difference in students' science achievement did not exist as a result of the treatment. However, small practical differences were detected between the groups, as student performance in the treatment group was more than two and one-half points higher than the means of students' performance scores in the comparison group. Recommendations point to the need for replication of the study over an entire school year. (Contains 4 tables.)