Policies and Interventions for Student Persistence in STEM Fields

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Expanding the pipeline of students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and entering the STEM workforce remains a persistent challenge across the U.S. This panel examines how policies and practices shape access to, persistence in, and representation across STEM fields, highlighting both intended and unintended consequences. The papers examine policies and interventions spanning K-12 and postsecondary education, illustrating how decisions at the course, institution, school district, and state levels can operate as gateways or barriers for students.

The first paper focuses on the K-12 pipeline and examines math acceleration policies in Texas, showing that placement into Algebra I by eighth grade strongly predicts access to advanced high school coursework in computer science (CS), mathematics, and science. These findings illustrate that early math placement decisions can limit later opportunities, producing unintended consequences that undermine STEM workforce development. The study highlights the potential of state-level automatic enrollment policies for well-prepared students—variations of which Texas and 11 other states are considering or implementing—to reduce barriers for students. 

The second paper shifts to a national lens, leveraging policy variation across all 50 states to evaluate the effects of K-12 CS education policies on postsecondary CS participation. The study finds that commonly adopted state policies have had little measurable impact on postsecondary CS degree or CS teacher production, suggesting that symbolic or light-touch reforms frequently fail to translate into substantive outcomes. These findings raise critical questions about the capacity of state policies, as currently designed, to meaningfully alter STEM participation at scale. 

The third paper examines institutional policy change within higher education, focusing on Calculus I as a purported “weed-out” course. A quasi-experimental study of curriculum policy change at a selective university demonstrates that mandating Calculus I decreases persistence in physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, and CS—particularly for women—while shifting students toward biological sciences. Even among high-achieving students, course performance and peer gender composition may act as sorting mechanisms. These findings reframe attrition as an outcome shaped by structural factors other than students’ ability to succeed.The fourth paper explores a low-touch higher education intervention aimed at improving persistence in undergraduate economics for underrepresented minority students. A randomized controlled trial at a large university shows that providing students in a rigorous introductory economics course with information about careers, research topics, and representation in the field increases course continuation for lower-performing underrepresented minority students. The findings point to a scalable institutional policy tool with relevance across diverse state and institutional contexts.

Collectively, these papers demonstrate that under a “fifty states, fifty systems” approach, policy implications may not always match their intended goals. The panel highlights consequences of early gatekeepers, limits of symbolic policy, and promise of empirically-grounded interventions for expanding STEM education. Integrating evidence across K-12 and higher education, the panel advances a nuanced understanding of how impacts of policies targeting STEM outcomes can vary across states and populations and underscores the importance of evaluating not just whether policies exist, but how—and for whom—they work.

Policy Area

• Education

Chair

• Hannah Acheson-Field, Science and Technology Policy Institute

Discussants

• Hanyun Cui, Boston University

• Carol L. Fletcher, The University of Texas at Austin

Organizer

• Nicole Danielle Martin, University of Texas at Austin

Individual Presentations

• Gatekeepers to High School STEM Courses: Implications of Middle School Math Acceleration Policies - Presenting Author: Nicole Danielle Martin, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Amy Lyn Wiseman, The University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Zhuoying Wang, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Miriam Jacobson, The University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Annelies Rhodes, E3 Alliance; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Rodrigo Miguel Lopez, E3 Alliance; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Carol L. Fletcher, The University of Texas at Austin

• The Effects of K-12 Computer Science Education Policies on Postsecondary CS Participation - Presenting Author: Paul Bruno, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Tuan D Nguyen, University of Missouri-Columbia; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Haeryun Kim, University of Illinois; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Chanh Bao Lam, Kansas State University

• Do "Weed-Out" Courses Weed Students Out? The Impact of Calculus I on STEM Persistence - Presenting Author: Katherine Leu, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

• What You Don't Know Might Deter You: Information Provision and Minority Retention in Undergraduate Economics - Presenting Author: Anjali Pai, Brown University