Predictors of Science Achievement in a Suburban Middle School, Addressing Trends in the Leaky STEM Pipeline in Early Adolescence

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Science Teaching and Learning SIG Poster Session 2

Abstract

This study examines middle school science achievement as well as motivational attributes as related to science to answer the following question: What motivational and academic performance factors predict middle school students’ achievement in science? Participants were 111 students in grades 6 through 8 from a diverse public middle school. Mathematics, English, and social studies achievement significantly predicted science achievement in addition to self-efficacy and grade motivation constructs from the Science Motivational Questionnaire-II with a large effect size. This study supports previous research that demonstrated that self-efficacy is a better predictor of science achievement than ethnicity and gender in middle school students and that students’ science achievement may be a function of mathematics and literacy skills.

Authors

• Jennifer A. Gatz, Stony Brook University - SUNY

• Angela M. Kelly, Stony Brook University - SUNY