2018 - Racial and Ethnic Heterogeneity in the Effect of MESA on AP STEM Coursework and College STEM Major Aspirations

Attribution: Alvarado, Steven Elıas; Muniz, Paul
Researchers: Paul MunizSteven Elıas Alvarado
University Affiliation: Cornell University
Email: alvarado@cornell.edu
Research Question:
(1) Does participation in MESA increase the odds of students taking AP STEM courses? (2) Does participation in MESA increase the odds of students planning to major in a STEM field in college? (3) Do race and ethnicity moderate these associations? MESA= Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Enrichment early program that targets socioeconomically disadvantaged students)
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Research in Higher Education
Journal Entry: Volume 59, Issue 7, pp 933–957
Year: 2018
Findings:

-MESA participation increases students’ odds of taking AP STEM courses in high school and their aspirations for declaring a STEM major in college.
– These effects are driven primarily by black and white students, respectively.
– Latino and Asian students remain largely unaffected by MESA partiipation.
– MESA may improve black students’ high school STEM engagement but may have little impact on black and Latino students’ STEM outcomes in college.

Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: Academic AchievementAcademic PreparationAP classesChoice of MajorCo-curricular activitiesRaceSTEMSTEM Major SelectionSTEM ParticipationRegions: NationalMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Secondary Survey DataAnalysis Methods: Propensity Score Matching Sampling Frame:25,000 students throughout high school and into their postsecondary careers
Sampling Types: Nationally RepresentativeAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Quantitative-Longitudinal
Data Description:

Heckman (2006), Summers and Hrabowski (2006)’s framework which argues that the early investment of educational resources could make inroads in closing racial and ethnic STEM achievement and attainment gap. These enrichment programs as providers of training, self-efficacy, confidence, higher aspirations.

-This study analyzes three waves of restricted nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS:09) that trace the STEM progress of more than 25,000 students nested within 944 public and private high schools who were in the ninth grade in the fall of 2009 throughout high school and into their postsecondary careers

– Authors used propensity score matching (PSM) to estimate causal effects in the absence of randomized data.

-DVs: Took an AP STEM course by Spring 2012, Plans to major in STEM,
-Key IVs: Participation in MESA
– Other IVs: Favorite subject is science, math or computer science, Advanced science course in 8th grade, A or B in most advanced science course in 8th grades Educational/career plan in the fall of 9th grade, Student took science fall of 9th grade, Student took math fall of 9th grade, Math score in fall of 9th grade, Family income, Parents’ education, Parents’ educational expectations for child, percent of students receiving reduced/free lunch, Percent of students enrolled in advanced placement courses, Number of full-time certified math teachers, number of full-time certified science teacher, school offers advanced STEM courses, School requires specific math courses, School requires specific science courses, School partners with MESA or similar enrichment program, School has a pro STEM climate, School uses a tracking policy, Program that encourages underrepresented students in STEM
– Controls: SES, whether students have an educational or career plan, whether students took a science or math course in the fall of ninth grade, and parents’ educational expectations for their children.

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:STEM Interest/Pursuit/Aspirations/Intent; STEM Enrichment Programs
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation AbstractsK-16 STEM Abstracts