Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Janice E. Brown
December 2002
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in a science co-
curricular activity (MESA) increases the academic achievement of students in inner city
schools. The study was conducted in an urban middle school. The participants were
sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade male and female students ranging in age from eleven to
thirteen years. The students were asked to complete the Maryland Engineering Science
recommended students who showed an interest in math and science. The 1st, 2nd, and
3rd quarter grades in science, mathematics, and language arts were used to compare the
pre and post test scores from the report cards for the 1999-2000 school year and the 2000-
2001 school year for each student involved in the study. A t-test was used to analyze the
data. The data compared the mathematics, science, and language arts scores for the first
three quarters of the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years for students participating in
MESA and students who qualified but chose not to participate. Results showed a
significant difference between the students who participated in the co-curricular activity
(MESA) and those who chose not to participate. In addition, students who participated in
who were eligible to participate but chose not to. Of the nine quarters student grades
were examined, seven of the nine comparisons were significant. The remaining two were