Broadening Participation in STEM College Majors: Effects of Attending a STEM-Focused High School

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart

Study examines whether inclusive, STEM-focused high schools increase graduates’ likelihood of pursuing STEM majors in college. Researchers analyzed state higher education records for seniors from 23 inclusive STEM high schools and 19 comparison schools lacking STEM-focused admission. Propensity score weighting aligned comparison students with similar demographics and Grade 8 achievement. Results show higher odds of enrolling in STEM bachelor’s programs two years after graduation overall and for under-represented groups; no association emerged for students entering two-year colleges.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Definition of Inclusive STEM High Schools

Research Question and Method

Findings on STEM Bachelor’s Enrollment

Findings for Two-Year Colleges

Policy and Equity Context

AERA Open October-December 2018, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 1–17 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858418806305 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2018. [http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Broadening Participation in STEM College Majors: Effects of Attending a STEM-Focused High School Barbara Means Digital Promise Haiwen Wang Xin Wei SRI Education Emi Iwatani Vanessa Peters Digital Promise To increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers, some states have promoted inclusive STEM high schools. This study addressed the question of whether these high schools improve the odds that their graduates will pursue a STEM major in college. State higher education records were obtained for students surveyed as seniors in 23 inclusive STEM high schools and 19 comparison schools without a STEMfocus. Propensity score weighting was used to ensure that students in the comparison school sample were very similar to those in the inclusive STEM school sample in terms of demographic characteristics and Grade 8 achievement. Students overall and from under-represented groups who had attended inclusive STEM high schools were significantly more likely to be in a STEM bachelor’s degree program two years after high school graduation. For students who entered two-year colleges, on the other hand, attending an inclusive STEM high school was not associated with entry into STEM majors. Keywords: STEM, postsecondary, high school, equity, policy Science, Technology, Engineering, And mathematicS (STEm) expertise is widely viewed by policymakers as both the engine for economic prosperity and as necessary for addressing critical global challenges such as climate change and infectious diseases. For individuals, earning a bachelor’s degree in a STEm field is positively associated with a higher likelihood of employment and higher lifetime earnings (Carnevale, Cheah, & Hanson, 2015). At the same time, the likelihood of earning a STEm bachelor’s degree is negatively correlated with being Hispanic or Black, being female, or coming from a low-income or immigrant family (National Science Board, 2018) . Policymakers have used the metaphor of a “perfect storm” to describe the threat posed by the combination of a world economy increasingly based on STEm expertise and U.S. demographic trends marked by declining proportions of the subgroups most likely to pursue STEm education and careers (i.e., Asian and White males). ANational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and medicine committee concluded that only by enlarging the STEm pipeline and reinventing STEm education in a way that attracts, supports, and sustains the participation of students from all kinds of backgrounds can the United States meet its needs for science and technology innovation, economic prosperity, and social well-being (National Academies, 2005) . moreover, regardless of whether or not the predicted macroeconomic consequences hold, disparities in participation rates in STEm fields have significant implications for income inequality and social mobility in America. In this context, a number of philanthropic organizations began exploring the concept of STEm-focused high schools that would recruit students from groups under-represented in STEm fields rather than the students with the highest scoreson competitive examinations (Bill & melinda Gates Foundation, 2005; Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2009) . Such schools began opening in significant numbers in the first decade of this century (means, Confrey, House, & Bhanot, 2008), and a number of states launched initiatives to create such schools at scale (Lynch, Peters-Burton, & Ford, 2015) . Like many educational innovations, these inclusive STEm high schools (ISHSs) caught on because the idea was compelling, even though there was little empirica

FAQs

What is the main research question of the study?

Whether inclusive STEM high schools improve the odds that graduates will pursue a STEM major in college.

How did the researchers compare inclusive STEM high schools with other schools?

They used state higher education records and applied propensity score weighting to make comparison students similar in demographic characteristics and Grade 8 achievement.

What were the key findings for STEM bachelor’s degree programs?

Students who attended inclusive STEM high schools were significantly more likely to be in STEM bachelor’s degree programs two years after high school graduation, including students from under-represented groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart