Mi-STAR Receives Accomplished Rating from STEMworks

The Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR) project has been admitted to STEMworks as an Accomplished program. Mi-STAR’s admission letter stated, “Your program will help make this database a critical resource for STEM learning advocates, program developers, educators and funders who are looking for programs that meet a high bar for effectiveness.”

STEMworks is an online clearinghouse that highlights STEM education programs achieving high standards of excellence. It was founded by Change the Equation, a consortium of Fortune 500 CEOs committed to promoting PK-12 STEM learning. It is now managed by WestEd, a nonprofit agency working with education and other communities throughout the United States and abroad to improve education and other outcomes for children, youth and adults.

STEMworks assembles teams of reviewers who thoroughly examine nominated programs’ profiles, self-ratings, explanations and supporting documents.  Mi-STAR was first added to the STEMworks list  as a Promising program in 2017. “That was a great achievement, especially since Mi-STAR was not yet even three years old,” said Michigan Tech Provost Jackie Huntoon. “Now the Mi-STAR curriculum and professional learning program are nearing completion and at this time have been adopted by 148  Michigan school districts. We’re quite proud to be recognized as an Accomplished program.”

In their review, STEMworks gave Mi-STAR Accomplished ratings (the highest possible rating) in nine out of ten review categories: Need, Evaluation, Sustainability, Replication and Scalability, Partnerships, Capacity, Challenging and Relevant Content, STEM Practices and Inspiration. Mi-STAR was rated as Developing in the Underrepresented Groups area.

Receiving a positive STEMworks review is important for Mi-STAR because many funding organizations, such as the Michigan Department of Education, rely on STEMworks to identify programs that represent a good return on investment. STEMworks recognition tells potential donors nationwide that Mi-STAR is worthy of support.