- There is a STEM achievement gap in the success and persistence of students who do and do not participate in STEM-related extracurricular clubs.
- Controlling for all else, the achievement gap widened in math performance between two identical students in which one participated in an extracurricular in-school math club and one did not.
- The results indicated that science club participation was related to higher cumulative high school science GPA and there was evidence presented in this study of a domain-specific effect.
- The results identified positive, statistically significant relationships between math club participation and STEM major selection.
- The authors did not find any statistically significant relationships between science club participation and STEM major selection.
- While, for the most part, the results were not differentiated by gender or race/ethnicity per se, they were in fact distinguishable by poverty status and the interaction between race and poverty status.
- The authors found little association between STEM club participation and STEM outcomes for low SES students.
- Findings support prior research that suggest that students from low SES backgrounds are less likely to have high academic achievement regardless of ethnicity. On the other hand, students from more affluent backgrounds have many more support systems in place to ensure that they will succeed in school.
- There was a STEM achievement gap in the success and persistence of students who do and do not participate in STEM-related extracurricular clubs.