What Are the Value-Added Contributions of Selective Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology? – Preliminary Analyses from a U.S. National Research Study

This article reports on the preliminary findings of a project focusing on graduates of 24 selective public science, mathematics and technology (SMT) high schools (n = 2,641, representing four organizational models) in the United States, and compares them with similarly talented age peers (n = 168) who attended summer mathematics or science courses but did not attend a selective SMT school. A central goal of the work is to delineate educational and career consequences of attending specialized public SMT high schools, and to provide insight into the educational practices that appear to be most strongly associated with these outcomes. This project is cross-sectional and comparative and is designed to generate descriptive, correlational, or associative findings through the collection of original survey data. Thus far, 60% of the SMT alumni pursued university degrees in science and 55.7% of the comparison group did as well. Preliminary data indicate that the odds of completing a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree in university are 59% higher for SMT school graduates who participated in research during high school. The odds were 21% higher for those who engaged in internships or mentorships, and 24% greater if they reported high ratings of belonging academically in their selective high school. Finally, graduates from two organizational models, schools-within-schools and residential schools are more likely to complete a STEM university degree than comparison group members.