The Effect of STEM-Focused High Schools on Student Intent to Declare a STEM College Major

• In Event: 44.084 - Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: 44.084-9 - Making an Impact: The Role of High Schools and Precollege Programs in College Access

Abstract

As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields maintain implications for the United States economy and its global leadership, concerns arise about less than one-third of bachelor's degree students declaring a STEM major. In this study, we investigate how school- and student-level factors interact and distinctively shape students' intent to declare a STEM major during the first semester of college. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 public-use data, we introduce the variables for the study, an analytical plan, and descriptive statistics for a sample of just over 12,000 students. Two-level multinomial logistic regression analysis will be used to further analyze the sample upon receiving access to the restricted-use data in the near future.

Authors

• LaTanya Dixon, The University of Mississippi

• Hsien-Yuan Hsu, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

• Suzanne M. Dugger, The University of Mississippi