[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-587274-105":59,"doc-detail-587274-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","stem-endorsement-uptake-and-completion-in-texas-high-schools-graduating-classes-of-2018-2023","STEM Endorsement Uptake and Completion in Texas High Schools, Graduating Classes of 2018-2023","","Education Research Center policy brief examining how Texas high school students access and complete STEM endorsements created under House Bill 5. Using Texas Education Authority data for first-time ninth graders from 2014-2015 through 2022-2023 (graduating classes 2018-2023), the study compares completers, attempters, and never-takers. Results show substantial statewide variation and lower completion than attempts, with completion associated with earlier Algebra I completion and several sociodemographic factors, alongside differences in STEM course rigor.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/stem-endorsement-uptake-and-completion-in-texas-high-schools-graduating-classes-of-2018-2023/587274/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/stem-endorsement-uptake-and-completion-in-texas-high-schools-graduating-classes-of-2018-2023/587274.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"วิน","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the STEM endorsement in Texas high schools?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It is a course sequence that provides depth in STEM and is one of the “endorsements” optioned under House Bill 5 (HB5) for Texas high school graduation paths.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did the study measure STEM endorsement pursuit and completion?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It analyzed Texas Education Authority data for first-time ninth graders across multiple cohorts, classifying students as completers, attampters, or never-takers based on whether they met STEM endorsement requirements by the end of high school.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What factors were linked to higher STEM endorsement completion?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The brief reports higher completion among students more likely to complete Algebra I by 8th grade and among Asian or White students compared with Black, Hispanic, or multiracial students, and it links completion to access to more rigorous STEM coursework.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587274,1792876011,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":19,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":52,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222","Education Research Center POLICY BRIEF  \n[www.texaserc.utexas.edu](www.texaserc.utexas.edu)  \nSTEM Endorsement Uptake and Completion in Texas High Schools, Graduating Classes of 2018-2023  \nJordan Conwell, Jane Furey, Katy Doncer, Michael Dinh, Carly May, and Cameron Rua-Smith, The University of Texas at Austin  \nJanuary 2026  \nWhat We Studied  \nIn 2013, the Texas House passed House Bill 5 (HB5), introducing student “endorsements” for high schools across the state. Endorsements are intended to provide students with depth in a specific knowledge area or subject and to signal students’completion of a bundle of such coursework to colleges and employers. One endorsement offered is in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Increased STEM skills can potentially result in Texas students having clear indicators ofin-demand skills, more efficient education-to-career linkages, and higher incomes. 12  \nIn our study, we investigated access to the STEM endorsement across Texas. We find that students who complete Algebra I by 8th grade are more likely to complete the STEM endorsement, as are students who not free or reduced price eligible. Students who are Asian or White are more likely to complete the STEM endorsement than students who are Black, Hispanic, or multiracial. These differences matter because, as we also find, students who complete the STEM endorsement take more rigorous STEM curricula in high school across both math and science. We also map STEM endorsement completion across the state and discuss districts where completion is notably high or low. Our study's investigation of STEM experiences among Texas students identifies intervention points for educators and policymakers interested in reducing inequality in STEM education and strengthening Texas’s labor force for today’s knowledge economy.  \nHouse Bill 5 (HB5) changed high school graduation requirements in several ways. Notably, it gave Texas high school students the option to graduate with “endorsements” – course sequences that provide depth in a particular subject – in five different areas: Arts and Humanities, Business and Industry, Multi-Disciplinary Studies, Public Service, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In today’s knowledge economy, STEM skills and credentials, including a high school STEM endorsement, can potentially result in Texas students having clear indicators ofin-demand skills, more efficient education-to-career linkages, and higher incomes. Therefore, we investigate patterns of STEM endorsement pursuit and completion to better understand who has access to the STEM endorsement, the types of opportunities the STEM endorsement offers, and who may take advantage of them.  \nSpecifically, we answer the following research questions:  \n• How many Texas students have attempted and completed the STEM endorsement?  \n• Are there differences in STEM endorsement uptake and completion by students’ social and demographic characteristics, geographic distribution, and/or 8th grade achievement?  \n• How much does STEM course-taking vary among students who complete and do not complete the STEM endorsement?  \n1 Black, Sandra E., Chandra Muller, Alexandra Spitz-Oener, Ziwei He, Koit Hung, and John Robert Warren. 2021.“The Importance of STEM: High School Knowledge, Skills and Occupations in an Era of Growing Inequality.”  \n2 Goodman, Joshua. 2019.“The Labor of Division: Returns to Compulsory High School Math Coursework.” Journal of Labor Economics 37(4):1141–82.  \nHow We Analyzed the Data  \nWe used data from the Texas Education Authority (TEA) to analyze STEM endorsement pursuit and completion, and differences among students who completed and did not complete the STEM endorsement. Our sample includes first-time 9th graders in the 2014-2015 through 2022-2023 school years (i.e., the graduating classes of 2018 through 2023) . Our sample includes 2,418,137 students. We focus on three groups of students: (1) Completers, who completed the STE","cbCaihlJIPzRiNFs","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihlJIPzRiNFs","pdf",415746,"English","# What We Studied\n# How We Analyzed the Data\n# What We Discovered","[{\"question\":\"What is the STEM endorsement in Texas high schools?\",\"answer\":\"It is a course sequence that provides depth in STEM and is one of the “endorsements” optioned under House Bill 5 (HB5) for Texas high school graduation paths.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the study measure STEM endorsement pursuit and completion?\",\"answer\":\"It analyzed Texas Education Authority data for first-time ninth graders across multiple cohorts, classifying students as completers, attampters, or never-takers based on whether they met STEM endorsement requirements by the end of high school.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors were linked to higher STEM endorsement completion?\",\"answer\":\"The brief reports higher completion among students more likely to complete Algebra I by 8th grade and among Asian or White students compared with Black, Hispanic, or multiracial students, and it links completion to access to more rigorous STEM coursework.\"}]","STEM Endorsement Uptake and Completion in Texas High Schools, Graduating Classes of 2018-2023 | PDF",1792061318]