iSTEM: A Multi-state Longitudinal Study of the Effectiveness of Inclusive STEM High Schools

来自SRI和乔治华盛顿大学的研究人员正在研究包容性STEM高中在包括德克萨斯州、北卡罗来纳州和俄亥俄州在内的三个关键地理区域的有效性。STEM学校仍然是一个重要的政策领域和试验田，用来表明STEM教育在最理想的条件下可以实现什么，其中STEM是学生学习体验的重点。总统呼吁再设立1,000所STEM学校，但对这类学校的影响或这类学校哪些配置和要素重要的证据相对较少。这项研究的重点是包容性STEM高中在多大程度上有助于提高学业成绩、对STEM职业的兴趣以及对中学后学习的期望。这项研究致力于实施研究，以检查STEM学校设计和实施的要素以及其他背景因素，包括与优越结果相关的国家政策。这是一项关于就读包容性STEM高中的影响的准实验研究，将这些学校的学生与在同一州其他类型学校就读的学生的结果进行比较。这项研究包括包容性STEM高中9年级或12年级的所有学生，以及通过倾向分数匹配确定的同州比较学校样本中的学生。数据是利用学生记录和定期调查学生纵向收集的。这项研究跟踪调查了12年级学生毕业后进入大专学习和就业的情况。本研究中确定的各州拥有必要的行政数据系统，以支持拟议的研究。通过使用州级数据库中提供的数据和通过项目调查获得的新信息，研究人员正在确定不仅在人口统计变量和高中入学前的学业成绩方面匹配的学生，而且在自我效能和先前参与非正式STEM相关活动等先前存在的兴趣和期望指标方面也匹配的学生。对每个州的学生成绩的影响分别进行了分析。关于STEM学校要素的数据是通过教师和管理人员的调查和访谈收集的。通过文献分析和访谈收集了州立STEM学校的历史和政策数据。这项研究使用了分层回归模型，每个结果衡量标准都有单独的模型，并对多次比较的测试进行了调整。对学生的自然减员进行监测，并检查结果以确定自然减员的影响。该项目侧重于包容性的STEM学校，而不是选择性的STEM学校，以便学生人数更能代表当地的学生人数。这项研究不仅提供了关于STEM学校有效性的证据来源，而且还提供了关于什么对谁有效以及在什么条件下有效的背景证据。

Researchers from SRI and George Washington University are studying the effectiveness of inclusive STEM high schools in three key geographic regions including Texas, North Carolina and Ohio. STEM schools continue to be an important policy area and test bed for one indication of what STEM education can accomplish under the most optimal conditions in which STEM is the focus of students' learning experiences. The President has called for the creation of an additional 1,000 STEM schools with relatively little evidence about the impact of such schools or the evidence of which configurations and elements of such schools are important. The study's focus is on the extent to which inclusive STEM high schools contribute to improved academic outcomes, interests in STEM careers, and expectations for post secondary study. The research study engages in implementation research to examine the elements of the STEM schools' design and implementation and other contextual factors, including state policies, which are associated with superior outcomes. This is a quasi-experimental study of the effects of attending an inclusive STEM high school comparing outcomes for students in these schools with those of their counterparts attending other types of schools in the same states. The study includes all students in the 9th or 12th grade in the inclusive STEM high schools and students in samples of same-state comparison schools identified through propensity score matching. Data are collected longitudinally using student records and surveying students at regular intervals. The study follows the 12th grade students after graduation into postsecondary study and the workforce. The states identified in this study have the requisite administrative data systems to support the proposed study. By using a combination of data available in state-level data bases and new information obtained through project surveys, the researchers are identifying students who are matched not only on demographic variables and academic achievement before high school entry, but also on indicators of pre-existing interest and expectation such as self-efficacy and prior participation in informal STEM-related activities. Impacts on student achievement are analyzed separately for each state. Data on the elements of STEM schools are collected through teacher and administrator surveys and interviews. State STEM school history and policy data are collected through document analysis and interviews. The study utilizes hierarchical regression models, with separate models of each outcome measure and adjustments for tests of multiple comparisons. Student attrition is monitored and findings are examined to determine influence of attrition. This project focuses on inclusive rather than selective STEM schools so that the population of students more typically represents the population of the students locally. The study provides a source of evidence about not only the effectiveness of STEM schools, but also contextual evidence of what works and for whom and under what conditions.