STEM Report: STEM Interest and Achievement on the Iowa ......achievement, the following analyses...
Transcript of STEM Report: STEM Interest and Achievement on the Iowa ......achievement, the following analyses...
STEM Report: STEM Interest and
Achievement on the Iowa Assessments
Catherine Welch
Stephen Dunbar
Heather Rickels
Iowa Testing Programs
University of Iowa
November 2015
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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.
Measures
Iowa Assessments
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.
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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 2013-2014 (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
3 19348
4 19818
5 19978
6 19275
7 18584
8 18936
9 17905
10 17598
11 17120
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.
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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 6-11. 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
Science
All Grades
Math
df F-value p df F-value p
Grade 8 310.90 <.001 8 199.94 <.001
Gender 1 77.98 <.001 1 55.21 <.001
STEM 1 2009.93 <.001 1 2489.82 <.001
Grade*Gender 8 3.23 .001 8 6.03 <.001
Grade*STEM 8 20.49 <.001 8 23.57 <.001
Gender*STEM 1 174.98 <.001 1 32.19 <.001
Grade*Gender*STEM 8 4.27 <.001 8 3.38 <.001
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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
Science
Middle School
Math
df F-value p df F-value p
Grade 2 233.25 <.001 2 56.90 <.001
Gender 1 31.63 <.001 1 5.09 .024
STEM 1 677.75 <.001 1 861.16 <.001
Grade*Gender 2 0.74 .478 2 4.62 .010
Grade*STEM 2 3.28 .038 2 1.62 .198
Gender*STEM 1 37.53 <.001 1 6.21 .013
Grade*Gender*STEM 2 5.12 .006 2 1.36 .255
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.
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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
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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.
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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
2011. 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), 1-10. Retrieved from
http://www.esa.doc.gov
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Appendix
Descriptive Statistics for Interest and Achievement in STEM
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Table A.1: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 3 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.2: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 4 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.3: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 5 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.4: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 6 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.5: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 7 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.6: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 8 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.7: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 9 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.8: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 10 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.9: Descriptive Statistics for Grade 11 by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest
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Table A.10: Descriptive Statistics for All Grades Combined by Proficiency Level, Gender, and STEM Interest