In 2007, the RET case study entitled the SCALE/QED Study of Science Immersion in LAUSD became a significant focal point for interaction across RET partners and role groups sharing a common interest in planning and conducting data collection on immersion, conducting and providing feedback on preliminary analysis, providing formative feedback to Immersion Unit and Professional Development Design teams, and understanding the nature and mechanisms of impact of partnership-wide work on science immersion.

This presentation shares preliminary analysis of the SCALE study of Grade 6 Plate Tectonics Immersion Unit Implementation in LAUSD. The results are preliminary because teacher surveys are still coming in, and because we have not had time to do many necessary secondary analyses (e.g.,disaggregating data on various dimensions).

This is a case study of a SCALE Goal 1 intervention in the Denver Public Schools, centered on the implementation of the Cognitive Tutor Algebra I course ("CT") designed by Carnegie Learning. Part I of the paper discusses the origins of the case study, the SCALE role in the intervention, and the purposes of the case study. Part II presents the findings of an empirical study about the effects of the course as perceived by Denver teachers who taught it.

This symposium is organized around case studies of instructional reform in four school districts: Denver , Los Angeles , Madison , and Providence . The four districts are partners in SCALE, a mathematics and science partnership (MSP) funded by NSF. Under the partnership, each district committed to a common vision and theory of action for instructional reform across five dimensions of policy and organization: curriculum, professional learning, monitoring of interim outcomes, accountability, and system management and problem solving. Agents of the partnership external to the districts participated in reform efforts through "co-construction," a wide-ranging set of collaborative activities (planning, training, product design, piloting and evaluation) with a wide range of district actors (top management, departments of teaching and learning, principals, coaches, teachers).

This synthesis of the district case studies evaluates the success of SCALE's theory of action across districts, examines variation by district, and offers lessons learned for policy, practice and research. SCALE had a substantial impact on the instructional guidance of every district. The most comprehensive set of influences occurred in Los Angeles , with effects registered in both mathematics and science across all five dimensions of the SCALE theory of action (system leadership, curriculum, PD, monitoring, and accountability/ equity).

The three goals of the 2003 SCALE Think Tank stated by Andy Porter at the outset were: (1) Think about sustainability and what it might mean to SCALE, (2) foster further building of partnership, and (3) enable SCALE to work more effectively. The outcomes of the Think Tank indicate that, overall, these goals were achieved.