Advanced Course Offerings And Completion In Science .

October 2017What’s HappeningAdvanced course offeringsand completion in science,technology, engineering, andmath in Texas public high schoolsMarshall GarlandAmie RapaportGibson Consulting GroupKey findings U.S.The number of advanced courses offered in science, technology, engineering, andmath (STEM) rose from 2007/08 to 2013/14 in Texas public high schools in alllocales (urban, suburban, town, rural), with large or small proportions of economicallydisadvantaged students, and with large proportions of minority students.Schools with the largest proportion of Black or Hispanic students offered a greaternumber of advanced STEM courses than did schools with the largest proportion ofWhite students.Schools in urban and suburban areas offered a greater number of advanced STEMcourses than did schools in rural areas or towns.Almost three-quarters of the state’s Black and Hispanic students (78 percent ofeach group) and two-thirds of the state’s White students (68 percent) attended highschools offering between 19 and 27 advanced STEM courses.A smaller proportion of Black and Hispanic students than White studentscompleted three or more advanced math or science courses, even among studentsdemonstrating comparably high math ability.DepartmentofEducationAt SEDL

U.S. Department of EducationBetsy DeVos, SecretaryInstitute of Education SciencesThomas W. Brock, Commissioner for Education ResearchDelegated the Duties of DirectorNational Center for Education Evaluation and Regional AssistanceRicky Takai, Acting CommissionerElizabeth Eisner, Acting Associate CommissionerAmy Johnson, Action EditorChris Boccanfuso, Project OfficerREL 2018–276The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) conductsunbiased large-scale evaluations of education programs and practices supported by federalfunds; provides research-based technical assistance to educators and policymakers; andsupports the synthesis and the widespread dissemination of the results of research andevaluation throughout the United States.October 2017This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) under ContractED-IES-12-C-0012 by Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest administered by SEDL.The content of the publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES orthe U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial prod ucts, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.This REL report is in the public domain. While permission to reprint this publication isnot necessary, it should be cited as:Garland, M., & Rapaport, A. (2018). Advanced course offerings and completion in science,technology, engineering, and math in Texas public high schools (REL 2018–276). Washington,DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center forEducation Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory South west. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.This report is available on the Regional Educational Laboratory website at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

SummaryTaking advanced high school courses predicts such postsecondary outcomes as enrollingin college, persisting in college courses, and completing a degree (see Hinojosa, Rapaport,Jaciw, LiCalsi, & Zacamy, 2016, for a review). In Texas, where Hispanic students make up51 percent of the student population, their access to and enrollment in advanced coursesis an ongoing concern despite recent gains (Aud et al., 2013; Laird, Alt, & Wu, 2009;Texas Education Agency, 2011). In particular, disparities in the proportions of Hispanicadults educated and certified for high-wage jobs in science, technology, engineering, andmath (STEM) fields raise questions about Hispanic students’ equitable access to advancedSTEM courses. In 2009 Hispanic employees accounted for 14 percent of the U.S. work force but held only 6 percent of STEM jobs (Beede et al., 2011).Members of the Texas Hispanic STEM Alliance of the Regional Educational LaboratorySouthwest, made up of representatives from Regional Education Service Centers, schooldistricts, postsecondary institutions, and state education agencies, asked whether Hispanicstudents in Texas are taking advanced STEM courses at the same rates as other studentsor have equitable opportunities to take them. In response, this study examined courseofferings and coursetaking in more than 1,500 Texas high schools over 2007/08–2013/14 toidentify differences across Black, Hispanic, and White students, using statewide longitudi nal student education records for more than 240,000 students a year.The findings of this study can inform regional and local educators and policymakers whoare considering policies, interventions, and reforms to equalize STEM achievement acrossstudent groups and support for advanced STEM coursetaking, particularly among Blackand Hispanic students. The methodology (in addition to the findings) may help statesbeyond Texas explore questions of course availability and course completion.How many advanced science, technology, engineering, and math courses did schools offer?Texas high school offerings of advanced STEM courses rose from an average of 9 in2007/08 to 14 in 2013/14. A greater number of advanced courses were offered in science(5.5 on average in 2013/14) than in math (4.8) or in other advanced STEM areas (not mathor science), such as information technology (3.6). The largest increase in course offeringswas for other advanced STEM courses, which rose from 1.4 in 2007/08 to 3.6 in 2013/14.Texas high schools enrolling the largest proportions of Black or Hispanic students offereda greater number of advanced STEM courses on average than did schools that enrolledthe largest proportions of White students. High schools with the largest proportionsof Black students offered about 15 advanced STEM courses on average, those with thelargest proportion of Hispanic students offered 17, and those with the largest proportionof White students offered 9 in 2013/14. These differences are closely tied to the schools’locale. Schools in suburban locales offered about 19 advanced STEM courses on averageand those in urban locales 18, substantially more than schools in towns, with 13, and inrural locales, with 10.The economic characteristics of a school’s population were associated with even largerdifferences. Across all school locales, as the percentage of economically disadvantaged stu dents (as proxied by participation in the federal school lunch program) rose, the numberi

of advanced STEM course offerings declined. In 2013/14 schools enrolling the smallestproportions of economically disadvantaged students averaged 17 advanced STEM courses,while schools enrolling the largest proportions of economically disadvantaged studentsaveraged 14. Schools in rural areas enrolling large proportions of economically disadvan taged students offered an average of 9 advanced STEM courses, fewer than schools inurban areas with large proportions of economically disadvantaged students, which offered16 courses, or in suburban areas, which offered 17.Because a majority of Texas high school students reside in urban and suburban areas, amajority (75 percent in 2013/14) attend schools in the top two quintiles of advanced courseofferings (between 19 and 27 on average). Approximately 78 percent of Black and Hispanicstudents are enrolled in these urban and suburban schools, a larger proportion than the68 percent of White students enrolled there.How many advanced STEM courses did students complete?Among students who were continuously enrolled in Texas high schools for four years,White students completed a slightly greater number of advanced STEM courses onaverage (4.6) than did Hispanic students (4.3) or Black students (4.0). Greater differencesby race/ethnicity emerged in analyses of the percentage of students who completed threeor more advanced STEM courses in math or in science than in analyses of the meannumber of advanced STEM courses completed. Among students demonstrating high mathability in grade 8, approximately 52 percent of White students completed at least threeadvanced math courses during high school, compared with 41 percent of Hispanic stu dents and 39 percent of Black students. In science the difference was smaller but persistent:58 percent of White students completed three or more advanced science courses comparedwith 51 percent of Hispanic students and 51 percent of Black students.ii

ContentsSummaryiWhy this study?1What the study examined1What the study foundAdvanced science, technology, engineering, and math course offerings increased statewidefrom 2007/08 to 2013/14Schools enrolling the largest proportion of racial/ethnic minority students offeredsubstantially greater numbers of advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathcourses than schools enrolling the largest proportion of White studentsA greater number of advanced science, technology, engineering, and math courses wereoffered in schools with a low percentage of economically disadvantaged studentsA greater number of advanced science, technology, engineering, and math courses wereoffered in urban and suburban schools than in rural or town schoolsSchools in towns and rural areas that enrolled large proportions of economically disadvantagedstudents offered the fewest advanced science, technology, engineering and math coursesSeventy-five percent of the state’s student population attended schools in the top twoquintiles of advanced science, technology, engineering, and math course offeringsWhite students completed a slightly higher number of advanced science, technology,engineering, and math courses than Black and Hispanic students on average across thefour cohorts examinedEconomically disadvantaged students completed, on average, slightly fewer advanced mathand advanced science courses than did other studentsDespite the greater availability of advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathcourses in urban and suburban schools than in schools in other locales, the averagenumber of courses that students completed did not differ much by localeA greater proportion of White students than of Black or Hispanic students completedthree or more advanced math or advanced science courses, even among studentsdemonstrating high math abilityA substantially smaller proportion of economically disadvantaged students than of otherstudents completed three or more advanced math or three or more advanced sciencecourses, even among students demonstrating high math abilityA greater proportion of students in schools in urban and suburban areas than in towns orrural areas completed three or more advanced math or three or more advanced sciencecourses, regardless of whether they demonstrated high math ability in grade 844566779911111214Implications of the study findings15Limitations of the study16Appendix A. Literature reviewA-1Appendix B. Data sources and analytic methodsB-1Appendix C. Texas graduation requirementsC-1iii