ITEST

Studies: Expanding Opportunities for Innovative and Technology-Rich STEM Experiences through Florida’s High School Career Academies ($459,000)

Funded by NSF, the Florida STEM Career Academies Study is a three-year, longitudinal, quasi-experimental research study of STEM-themed career academies (e.g., information technology, scientific technology) and students’ high school coursetaking, postsecondary enrollment, and early postsecondary STEM coursetaking. This study will provide critical, in-depth understanding of access to and impact of STEM-themed career academies on students’ STEM coursetaking in high school and during their first year of college. This ITEST/Workforce Development Studies Project specifically proposes to address the following research questions:

Who enrolls in STEM-themed career academies?

• How are student characteristics (e.g., demographics, prior performance) related to the type of career academies they enter (e.g., STEM v. other academy type or among STEM foci, Information technology v. Aeronautical Engineering)?
• What are the school factors that influence enrollment in STEM-themed career academies?

Do STEM-themed career academies increase students’ STEM coursetaking in high school and during their first year of postsecondary school (Grade 13) or their entry into the STEM workforce directly after high school?

• Does enrollment in different types of STEM-themed career academies (e.g., Informational Technology v. Aeronautical Engineering) lead to different STEM coursetaking or employment behaviors?
• Do the academies increase STEM coursetaking among historically underrepresented students and reduce gaps in STEM coursetaking or employment among historically underrepresented students and their peers? Among students at high risk for dropping out and their peers?

We propose to address our research questions using a mixed-methods approach, relying on both extant student-level longitudinal data in Florida and site visit data collected specifically for this study.

Administrative data: Career academy enrollment data have been available in Florida’s State Department of Education dataset from 2006-07 onward. In the proposed study, we will analyze data from 2006-07 through 2010-11. Four cohorts of students are identified: those who, in 2006-07 were (1) ninth graders, (2) tenth graders, (3) eleventh graders and (4) twelfth graders. For each cohort, student outcomes will be analyzed up to grade 13. Thus, in cohort #1, we will examine grades 12 and 13, while in cohort #4, we will analyze course taking and completion during the entire high school period, assuming normal grade progression.

Site visit data: Site visits will take place in Florida’s major urban centers: Jacksonville (Duval County), Miami (Miami-Dade) Orlando (Orange County), Tampa (Hillsborough County), and St. Petersburg (Pinellas County). For these site visits, we will purposefully select schools with the following sets of characteristics: (1) a whole school career academy organization; (2) one small learning academy among other types of career academies present in the same building, and 3) high and low career academy STEM producers (identified through analysis of extant data). We are particularly interested in identifying high schools where STEM-themed career academies appear to impact student mathematics and science coursetaking and either increase or decrease historical gaps

This research will inform policymakers at national, state, district and local levels who must respond to federal accountability pressures and who are responsible for improving STEM opportunities for all students. Results will also provide important knowledge on career academies as they expand and enhance STEM student persistence, particularly for underrepresented groups. Ultimately, this research will contribute to promoting a healthy economy and a diverse and well-qualified STEM workforce by providing case exemplars of STEM career academies effective in diversifying those attracted to STEM careers.