Engineering

Study of the Impact of Specialized Public High Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology

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Principal Investigator: 
Rena Subotnik
Project Overview
Background & Purpose: 

This project focuses on a sample of specialized public science, mathematics and technology (SMT) high school graduates and compares them with similarly talented age peers who attended summer mathematics or science courses and did not attend a specialized SMT school. A central goal of the work is to delineate educational and career consequences for the life, physical and behavioral sciences associated with the formation of specialized public SMT high schools, and to provide insight into the educational practices that appear to be most strongly associated with these outcomes. Research questions we propose to address in this study include:

  1. Are graduates from specialized SMT high schools more likely to enroll in and complete SMT-related studies and career fields when compared with age peers of similar abilities and interests who did not graduate from a specialized SMT school?
  2. What school models employed by specialized SMT high schools are most associated with entrance into SMT-related studies and career fields? (School models include: residential schools, schools-within-schools, regional centers with half-day courses, and full time commuter schools.)
  3. To what degree do graduates from specialized SMT high schools who pursue and complete non-SMT degree concentrations and careers attribute value to the SMT skills and content they experienced at their high school?
  4. Do graduates from specialized SMT high schools differ in their professed understanding and personal interest regarding science-related public issues from age peers of similar abilities and interests who did not graduate from a specialized SMT school?
Setting: 

In each case below, the participants of the study will be alumni of the following institutions who are four to six years out from high school graduation.

Phase One (Pilot): Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy – a state funded specialized school for talented students from throughout the state of Illinois. The comparison group is being generated from participants of the Midwest Academic Talent Search, an organization housed at Northwestern University whose goal is to identify academically talented adolescents and advise them on potential courses and services they might like to pursue.

Phase Two: In addition to IMSA, seven schools (making 2 from each school model) joined in this endeavor:

Residential:

  • Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
  • The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts
  • School Within School:
  • Montgomery Blair Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet
  • The Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy of Austin
  • Self-contained, Commuter School:
  • Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Brooklyn Technical High School
  • Part-time:
  • Central Virginia Governor’s School
  • Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center

Phase Three: An additional 20 schools have been invited to participate in employing the study instrument. All but four (as indicated by asterisks) have completed their submission of up to date emails to the research team. Midwest Academic Talent Search participants of the same age serve as the comparison group.
These schools include:

Residential:

  • Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
  • The Maine School of Science and Mathematics
  • North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
  • Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science
  • Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts
  • Alabama School of Mathematics and Science

School-Within-School:

  • Russell Math and Science Center Within the Alabama School of Fine Arts
  • Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology
  • Academy of Science and Technology*
  • Kennesaw Mountain Academy of Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Self-contained Commuter School:

  • Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science
  • School of Science and Engineering Magnet*
  • DeBakey High School for Health Professions*
  • Hutchinson Technical High School*

Part-time:

  • Dearborn Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology
  • Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School
  • Southwest Virginia Governor’s School for Science, Mathematics, and Technology
  • Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology
  • New Horizon’s Governor’s School for Science and Technology
Research Design: 

This project is cross-sectional and comparative and is designed to generate descriptive [observational] correlational or associative [factor analysis, multi-level regression modeling, hierarchical linear modeling] evidence. Original data are collected through school records or policy documents and survey research.

Several major types of statistical analyses are being conducted for the data collected. As surveys are completed and the data are cleaned and appropriately organized, detailed descriptive analyses are conducted on all variables, including both item-level variables and composites that consist of multiple items. The construction of composite variables (i.e., constructs) are partially be based on the empirical results from factor analytic studies.

The first two major research questions proposed for this study involve analyses of dichotomous outcome variables. The study has a multi-level design in which each school functions as the Level 2 unit, and the individual students function as the Level 1 units nested under the school. Research question number 4 proposed in this project (“Do graduates from specialized SMT high schools differ in their professed understanding and personal interest regarding science-related public issues from graduates of regular non-magnet non-examination high schools with comparable academic and demographic backgrounds?”) involves continuous outcome variables derived from survey subscales (e.g., interest regarding science-related public issues). For these continuous outcome variables, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis will be implemented. The data collected from the qualitative component can offer some important contextual insights from graduates who have had 4 – 6 years to gain some perspective on their experiences.

During the first year, the instrument was developed in accordance with the four research questions and guided by a literature review of current surveys involving factors in academic achievement. Feedback from our advisory panels - Pilot Site Advisory Panel, School Policy Advisory Panel, Science Education Advisory Panel and Research Advisory Panel - helped to narrow down the questionnaire to the most relevant inquiries. This pilot survey was tested on samples of alumni students from the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University as well as the Illinois Math and Science Academy.

During the second phase, the pilot survey was revised and further shortened with input from the advisory panels and administered to graduates from 8 schools representing 2 each of the four models. The third stage is in process with an additional 20 schools and the comparison group. We anticipate that data collection will be completed in early 2012.

Findings: 

See the publications below for preliminary findings.

Publications & Presentations: 

Publications

Subotnik, R.F. & Tai, R.H. . (2011) Successful education in the STEM disciplines: Selective STEM schools. For workshop report conducted by the National Research Council’s Board on Science Education and board on Testing and Assessment on Successful STEM Education in K-12 Schools.

Subotnik, R.F., Edmiston, A., Lee, G.M., Almarode, J. & Tai, R.H. (2011). Exploring intensive educational experiences for adolescents talented in science. In A. Ziegler & C. Perleth (Eds.). Excellence: Essays in honor of Kurt A. Heller. Munich, Germany: LIT Verglag.

Subotnik, R.F., Tai, R.H., Rickoff, R. & Almarode, J. (2010). Specialized Public High Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology and the STEM Pipeline: What Do We Know Now and What Will We Know in Five Years? Roeper Review, 32, 7-16.

Presentations

Since our last report to NSF, we have conducted the following status reports on the study:

  • November, 11, 2010 in Atlanta, at the professional conference of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology
  • January 21, 2011 in Chicago, at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Science and Mathematics Academy.
  • March 7, 2011 in Maryland, at a gathering of students in the research program at Montgomery Blair High School Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Magnet.
  • May 10, 2011, Workshop on successful STEM education in K-12 Schools, National Research Council, Washington DC
  • August 6, 2011, American Psychological Association convention, Washington DC
  • October 28, 2011 – specific date to be determined. The professional conference of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Austin, Texas
  • November 5, 2011, Convention of the National Association for Gifted Children, New Orleans, LA
  • November 17, 2011, Invited presentation to meeting of National Sciences Resource Center
Other Products: 

Our primary target is to generate policy recommendations for high schools that reflect the best practices available to talented and interested students in STEM at specialized high school. Our second target is to provide data to support [or not support] the development of additional specialized science high schools. In addition, we have recruited a panel of advisors (including Norman Augustine, lead author of Rising Above the Gathering Storm; Kathryn Sullivan, a member of the National Science Board until she stepped into her current position as Assistant Secretary of Commerce; and Barry Bozeman, Ander Crenshaw Professor of Public Policy at the University of Georgia) who are highly visible in the science education policy world. They have agreed to help us frame the policy implications of the study.

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