STEM SCHOOLS VS. NON-STEM SCHOOLS: COMPARING STUDENTS MATHEMATICS STATE BASED TEST PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how students who participated in T-STEM schools performed on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) mathematics test compared to their corresponding peers who participated in traditional public schools in Texas. The present study included 18 T-STEM schools, and 18 matched non-STEM schools. The sample for this study is 1887 studentswho were in 11^th grade in 2011. A hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to compare students’ mathematics scores.This study also investigates if students who come from traditionally underserved subpopulations increase their mathematics score by participating in T-STEM schools. Results revealed that the mean mathematics scores on TAKS of STEM and non-STEM school students were not statistically significantly different from each other, but participating in STEMschools resulted in a statistically significantly increase on Hispanic students’ mean mathematics score relative to the reference group (White, male, high-SES, non-STEM).

Key Words: STEM, T-STEM academies, Inclusive STEM schools, TAKS, TEA.

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