Associations Between Predictive Indicators and Postsecondary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Success Among Hispanic Students in Texas

Nationwide, Hispanic students continue to be underrepresented among students who complete a four-year degree in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016) and among workers in STEM fields. This discrepancy is a concern, especially in light of the projected growth in employment in STEM fields and in light of the fact that wages for jobs in STEM fields are 26 percent higher on average than wages for jobs in non-STEM fields. Concern is particularly acute in Texas, where Hispanic students account for 51 percent of the K-12 student population. The Texas Hispanic STEM Research Alliance, made up of representatives from Regional Education Service Centers, school districts, postsecondary institutions, and state education agencies, partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest on a series of studies of predictors of postsecondary STEM success (defined as enrolling in, persisting in, or completing a postsecondary STEM major or degree) for Hispanic students in Texas. The first study reviewed the research literature to identify indicators (malleable factors that can be measured in K-12 settings) that predict students' postsecondary STEM success. Among the indicators identified were the number of math courses taken, the number of science courses taken, the level of math or science courses taken, interest or confidence in STEM, achievement in middle school and high school (for example, grade point average and scores on standardized math and science assessment tests), and SAT and ACT math scores. This report presents the findings of the second study, which examined the associations between some of the indicators identified in the first study and postsecondary STEM success among Texas students. The current study used data on seven cohorts of students who entered grade 9 in 2000-06, were enrolled in a Texas public high school for at least three years, and enrolled in a two-year Texas public college or a four-year Texas public or private college or university by spring 2011.