– Ability is shown to have a consistent impact on STEM performance.
– Self-efficacy has large estimated impacts, and there is evidence of strong bias against women.
– High school math preparation and attending small colleges increase the likelihood of noninterested
students switching to STEM fields.
– Overall, there is little evidence that collegiate educational experiences affect persistence or attainment. The results indicate that policies to improve high school math preparation and address the gender gap would be most effective.
– Those who graduated STEM tended to work fewer hours per week and have parents who were more educated and were expected to contribute more money to their education.
– Results show a statistically significant negative relationship between females and STEM degree attainment and a statistically significant positive relationship between Asians and STEM attainment.
– Out of all the educational experience variables, study groups was the only one that had a statistically significant impact on persistence in the STEM major. These estimates point to ability and self-efficacy, not educational experience, as the most influential factors in persistence in STEM majors.
2017 - The Roots of STEM Achievement: An Analysis of Persistence and Attainment in STEM Majors
This paper uses data from the “Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study” (BPS) of 2003-2009 from the National Center of Education Statistics. The BPS issued surveys to 16,100 beginning postsecondary students during the 2003-2004 school year and sent them follow-up surveys in 2006 and 2009 to measure their progress in attaining their degree. This article focuses on students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in 2003-2004. The reported sample is 1,500 students, though this is modified to minimize disclosure risk of individual survey responses.
A STEM major is defined as any student who reported working toward a bachelor’s degree in biological/biomedical sciences, computer/information science/support, engineering, mathematics and statistics, physical sciences, science technologies/technicians, or engineering technologies/related fields.
IV: Interest ( no variable included to measure interest instead interest was considered indirectly by comparing results from samples of interested and noninterested studentsbased on their initial choice of major), Ability (measured by SAT/ACT scores, first semester GPA, and highest level of math
taken in high school), Self-efficacy (gender and race (White, African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Other) were used as proxies), Educational experiences (Carnegie classification (research, master’s, baccalaureate), selectivity, whether students had graduate student instructors, lived on campus, had large class sizes, met with academic advisers, contacted faculty outside of class, joined study groups, and participated in on-campus organizations), SES (highest level of parental education, hours worked per week, and expected family contribution)
Four DV to address each of the RQ: (1) an indicator for graduating in a STEM field, (2) indicator for whether an incoming STEM major graduated college or not, regardless of their graduating field, (3) indicator for whether an incoming non-STEM majors graduated in a STEM field, (4) indicator for whether or not an undeclared major chooses and completes a STEM degree.