Donald B. Young, Director, Curriculum Research & Development Group

College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Following ten-plus years of initial development, testing, and revision, sufficient data had been accumulated on the impact of FAST on student learning to generate interest outside Hawaii. Project developers entered into long-term systematic data collection on effectiveness with both students and teachers. External reviews of the quality of the instructional materials, use of appropriate evaluation designs, and examination of the educational significance of outcomes include the U.S. Department of Education's Joint Dissemination Review Panel and the Program Effectiveness Panel, the National Staff Development Council's What Works in the Middle Grades, and the U.S. Department of Education's Expert Panel on Mathematics and Science Education. As a result of the Expert Panel review, FAST was identified as one of only two programs nationally to be named exemplary based on sustained effects on learning over multiple years in multiple sites. This session will highlight some of these findings.