An Exploratory Quantitative Study of the Impact of STEM-Focused Middle Schools on Student Persistence and Performance in STEM

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) continue to be a major challenge for the United States (U.S.), as the U.S. continues to lag behind other countries in this area due to ongoing lack of individuals who are entering STEM fields and many who are entering STEM fields but lack the skills necessary to perform adequately in these roles. The problem related to this study involved the ongoing need to identify how well STEM education programs are addressing this need and increasing the number of students, especially underrepresented minorities, in following STEM career pathways and developing the knowledge and skills needed to persist in the field. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the persistence and performance of students who attended a STEM-focused middle school in North Carolina. The Social Cognitive Career Theory is the theoretical framework for this study and provides a foundation for how career decisions developed over time. This study was a quantitative, nonexperimental investigation of student data on high school student STEM persistence and academic performance in STEM-related courses throughout high school, after attending a STEM-focused middle school for their sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade years. The study results found that male students have twice the amount of STEM persistence on average than female students and that African-American students had the least amount of STEM persistence as all other subgroups of students, while the White subgroup had the greatest STEM persistence than all other subgroups. In addition, study results also found that female students STEM academic performance was comparable to that of male students, with females having slightly better performance in mathematics courses. Also, the White subgroup outperformed all other subgroups, while the African-American and Hispanic subgroups’ academic performance was the lowest. The standard multiple regression resulted in very low significance, however, between the gender and race/ethnicity of students ...