Exploring the Foundations of the Future STEM Workforce: K-12 Indicators of Postsecondary STEM Success

The number of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is growing rapidly and is expected to increase by approximately 1 million in the United States between 2012 and 2022 (Vilorio, 2014). People of many racial/ethnic minorities, however, including Hispanic people, are underrepresented among recipients of STEM degrees and among employees in STEM fields (Beede et al., 2011). Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest conducted this review of the research literature to identify malleable factors that can be measured in K-12 settings and that predict students' postsecondary STEM success (defined as enrolling in, persisting in, and completing a postsecondary STEM major or degree), particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying these predictive malleable factors can help policymakers and district and school administrators develop and implement interventions that increase the percentage of Hispanic students succeeding in postsecondary STEM majors and pursuing STEM careers. This report addressed two research questions: (1) What K-12 indicators predict postsecondary STEM success?; and (2) To what extent do K-12 indicators of postsecondary STEM success differ for Hispanic and non-Hispanic students? Key findings from this literature review include the following: (1) The number of high school math and science courses taken and the level of those courses predict postsecondary STEM success for all student subgroups; (2) Interest or confidence in STEM showed statistically significant predictive relationships with students' postsecondary STEM success; (3) Indicators related to achievement in middle school and high school predicted students' postsecondary STEM success; (4) Statistically significant high school predictors of postsecondary STEM success included schools' academic rigor, percentage of students enrolled in college preparatory programs, students' satisfaction with their teachers, and levels of parent participation; (5) Few studies examined K-12 predictors of postsecondary STEM success specifically for Hispanic students. Appended are: (1) About the literature review; (2) Abstracts of reviewed studies; and (3) Detailed findings by study.