Reexamining the Public-Catholic School Gap in STEM Opportunity to Learn: New Evidence From the High School Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Educational Opportunity Gaps for Students of Diverse Backgrounds

Abstract

This paper examines sector differences in STEM opportunity to learn using Mahalanobis-distance matching and adjacent categories models. Consistent with prior studies, there are significant sector differences in math and science course sequence level and total credits earned. However, we find that these gaps are largely accounted for by selection bias. Moreover, we find that the Catholic school advantages in STEM opportunity to learn differs by subject; Catholic school students are more likely to enroll in advanced math courses relative to middle-level courses, while their advantage in science is concentrated in the middle of the course taking hierarchy.

Authors

• Shangmou Xu, University of Pittsburgh

• Sean P. Kelly, University of Pittsburgh