STEM Report: STEM Interest and Achievement on the Iowa Assessments

Transcription

1 STEM Report: STEM Interest and Achievement on the Iowa Assessments Catherine Welch Stephen Dunbar Heather Rickels Iowa Testing Programs University of Iowa November 2015

2 STEM Report: STEM Interest and Achievement on the Iowa Assessments There has been an increased focus on science and math achievement in the United States due to a concern that students lack the skills needed for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). This concern is especially relevant as the demand for STEM graduates is increasing and there is a lack of graduates to fulfill this need (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2011). In addition, research suggests that college and career readiness planning should begin before high school (ACT, 2008). In an attempt to increase student interest and achievement in STEM, the U.S. Department of Education established the Committee on STEM Education. Many states have also created their own STEM initiatives. In Iowa, Iowa Testing Programs collaborated with the Governor s STEM Advisory Council to study the connection between (1) student interest in science and math careers and (2) achievement in science and math. This report addresses those findings, with a special focus on middle school results. Iowa Assessments Measures The Iowa Assessments (IAs) measure student achievement in reading, written expression, mathematics, social studies, and science. They have been designed, developed, and researched to support a variety of important educational purposes, including providing measures of growth and relative standing compared to students in the nation. Relative standing can be assessed through either proficiency level or National Percentile Rank (NPR). For this report, proficiency levels include Not Proficient, Proficient, and College Ready. Proficiency levels are based on National Standard Scores (NSS) by grade level. The NSS is a developmental score that describes a student s location on the achievement continuum. The NPR is a score that indicates the percent of students in a group with a lower score. For this report, proficiency levels and NPRs in both science and math will be examined. 1

3 STEM Interest Inventory The STEM Interest Inventory is a self-report survey given to Iowa students at the same time as the Iowa Assessments. This inventory was developed by the STEM Monitoring Project Committee and consists of eight questions. For this report, only responses to the final question on the survey were of interest. This final question assessed students STEM career interest. Data Collection The sample consisted of approximately 168,000 students in Grades 3-11 who were enrolled in Iowa schools in (see Table 1). Students were selected, from the population of Iowa students, if they took the interest inventory and had a science or math score on the IAs. Table 1: Number of Students per each Grade Grade N Analyses The relationship between interest and achievement in STEM was first examined through descriptive statistics of students NPRs in science and math by grade, proficiency level, gender, and STEM interest. Next, three-way ANOVAs were conducted for all grades combined and for middle school grades combined. Due to the large number of comparisons, a Bonferroni correction was applied (.05/28 =.002), requiring an observed significance level of.002 for interpretation and follow-up analyses. Middle school results were then further examined through follow-up tests and graphs. 2

4 Results All Grades Descriptive statistics were used to examine the relationship between interest and achievement in STEM. Means and standard deviations of science and math are provided on the NPR scale for each grade by proficiency level, gender, and STEM interest (Appendix). In comparing overall performance across the groups (Table A.10), Proficient and College Ready students tended to perform better when they reported high STEM interest. Conversely, Not Proficient students performance did not increase with STEM interest. These relationships were similar for both females and males. Three-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine the effects of grade, gender, and STEM interest on science and math achievement. For this analysis, only students with high and low STEM interest were included. The three way interaction of grade, gender, and STEM interest was significant in predicting both science and math achievement (Table 2). Follow-up analyses were conducted and there was a significant interaction between gender and STEM interest in predicting science and math achievement for Grades 3-5, but not for Grades Since this report is concentrating on middle school grades, results for these follow-up analyses will be outlined below. Table 2: Three-way ANOVA Results for All Grades Effect All Grades All Grades Science Math df F-value p df F-value p Grade < <.001 Gender < <.001 STEM < <.001 Grade*Gender <.001 Grade*STEM < <.001 Gender*STEM < <.001 Grade*Gender*STEM < <.001 3

5 Middle School To provide a more well-defined picture of the relationship between STEM interest and achievement, the following analyses focus on middle school grades, Grades 6-8. Three-way ANOVAs were conducted to examine the effects of grade, gender, and STEM interest on science and math achievement for middle school students. For this analysis, only students with high and low STEM interest in Grades 6-8 were included. The three way interaction of grade, gender, and STEM interest was not significant in predicting either science or math achievement at the.002 level (Table 3). For science, the two-way interaction of gender and STEM interest was significant. In addition, for math, both STEM interest and grade were significant. These findings were examined in detail. Three main trends emerged, including 1) interest in STEM remains high in middle school, 2) female interest lags behind male interest, and 3) STEM achievement is associated with STEM interest. Results are summarized below. Table 3: Three-way ANOVA Results for Middle School Effect Middle School Middle School Science Math df F-value p df F-value p Grade < <.001 Gender < STEM < <.001 Grade*Gender Grade*STEM Gender*STEM < Grade*Gender*STEM Interest in STEM remains high in middle school. Approximately 82% of Iowa students in Grade 3 expressed a moderate or high interest in STEM, and levels of STEM interest increased until middle school. By middle school, approximately 85% of Iowa students expressed a moderate or high interest in STEM. This level of interest is encouraging and findings also suggest that students remained interested in STEM fields throughout high school, although levels do drop slightly. 4

6 Female interest in STEM lags behind that of males. In early grades, males and females reported very similar levels of interest in STEM; however, by middle school years, males were more likely than females to be interested in STEM. Approximately 91% of males and 80% of females were interested in STEM in middle school. Additionally, the proportion of males interested in STEM remained fairly constant throughout middle school, while the proportion of females interested in STEM decreased slightly. This discrepancy was greater in high school. By Grade 11, approximately 87% of males and 69% of females reported interest in STEM. Achievement levels are highest when STEM interest is expressed. Students who expressed high interest in STEM outperformed students who expressed no interest in STEM, in both science and math (Figures 1-2). In addition, this trend for science increased over grades, indicating that gains made by students interested in STEM were greater than those made by students not interested in STEM. Figure 1: Science Achievement in Middle School by Gender and STEM Interest Figure 2: Math Achievement in Middle School by Gender and STEM Interest 5

7 Summary This report summarized many promising trends in Iowa students STEM achievement as it relates to STEM interest. It is encouraging to note that the majority of students, including middle school students, are interested in STEM. This outcome is especially significant given the fact that STEM interest was found to be associated with STEM achievement. It is also important to note that while females are interested in STEM, their interest lags behind that of males and decreases slightly throughout middle school and high school. Monitoring STEM interest and achievement is an important step in ensuring college and career readiness for Iowa students. As demonstrated, the Iowa Assessments are a valuable tool for this purpose. These findings provide vital information for Iowa educators to reflect upon when monitoring STEM achievement and developing STEM programs. As part of the Iowa Assessments research program, trends in STEM interest and achievement will continue to be monitored. 6

8 References ACT. (2008). The forgotten middle: Ensuring that all students are on target for college and career readiness before high school. Iowa City, IA: Author. National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The Nation s Report Card: Mathematics Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. U.S. Department of Commerce. (2011). STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future. Economics and Statistics Administration Issue Brief, 3(11), Retrieved from 7

9 Appendix Descriptive Statistics for Interest and Achievement in STEM 8

10 Table A.1: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 3 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 9

11 Table A.2: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 4 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 10

12 Table A.3: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 5 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 11

13 Table A.4: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 6 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 12

14 Table A.5: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 7 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 13

15 Table A.6: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 8 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 14

16 Table A.7: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 9 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 15

17 Table A.8: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 10 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 16

18 Table A.9: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 11 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 17

19 Table A.10: Descriptive Statistics for All Grades Combined by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest 18