Inequities in STEM and Major-Specific Postsecondary Student Outcomes

• In Event: Enhancing Postsecondary Student Career and Outcomes

Abstract

We aim to examine academic inequities in college enrollment, enrollment in a STEM major, 1-year persistence, 1-year persistence within STEM, and 1-year persistence within major. Using data from Texas’s state-wide education dataset, we use sequential linear probability models to examine students’ postsecondary outcomes. Our findings show relationships between high school academic performance, student demographics, and higher education outcomes; these relationships vary when comparing 1-year persistence within higher education generally, within STEM, and within specific STEM majors. In other words, aggregating data by “STEM” or “S.T.E.M” can vastly impact our understanding of student outcomes and extant inequities and lead to disparate conclusions about the need for and design of interventions promoting equity in STEM. The implications for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Madison E. Andrews, The University of Texas - Austin

• Shruti Khandekar, University of Texas at Austin

• Matthew S. Giani, University of Texas at Austin