Investigating the Relationships Between Student Experiences and NAEP Technology and Engineering Achievement

• In Event: Investigating Young Adolescents' Academic Achievement and STEM Education

Abstract

While technology- and engineering-related topics are sometimes covered in core middle school classes, the lack of dedicated technology and engineering courses leaves students open to acquire technology and engineering literacy (TEL) from many different sources (e.g., teachers, family, friends, self-teaching). The present study used multiple-group multiple regression analysis to investigate whether the relationship between TEL-related experiences and performance on the NAEP 2018 Grade 8 TEL assessment differs between students who acquired TEL knowledge from different primary learning sources (PLS). Results show that the most common PLS varied by TEL content area, and some differential associations with TEL achievement emerged between the teacher-as-PLS group compared to other groups. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed in the full paper.

Authors

• Melanie Gonzalez, The University of Texas at Austin

• Bitnara Jasmine Park, American Institutes for Research

• Mengyi Li, Meta