REVISITING A SELECTIVE

STEM HIGH SCHOOL

ADMISSIONS POLICY:

7 YEARS LATER

Christopher KolarCarissa Rosine

NCSSS/NAGC Baltimore 2014

The Revision

Problems with TCS

• Verbal score weighed as much as mathematics

• Skewed GPA (mean admitted 3.77)

• 4-person review teams, significant interrater-severity effect

• Eligibility requirement of “lab science” not meaningfully verifiable and discouraged qualified applicants from under-resourced districts

Summary of changes

Half of Class:

by formula

Second Half:

in/out decision

followed by

balancing

SAT-M

GPA

Review Committee

Be attentive to tilt!

TCS: Ranked By 2006 Revision: Ordered By

The Applicants

Applicant Profile: Who is applying to IMSA?

2003-2008• Total number of applicants steadily increases each year

• Slightly more male applicants than female

• Majority from Chicagoland area

• 3875 Applicants over 6 years

RACE PERCENT

White 42.9

Asian 36.0

Black 9.1

Hispanic 5.1

Multi-racial (2 or more) 4.4

Not reported 2.5

American Indian/Native Alaskan 0.1

Applicant Profile: Who is applying to IMSA?

The Admitted

AVERAGE APPLIED ADMITTED

GPA 3.69 3.86

SAT Score 1152 1242

SAT Math 598 646

SAT Critical Reading 554 596

RCE Score 62 66

Applicants vs. Admitted Students

AVERAGE APPLIED ADMITTED

GPA 3.70 3.88

SAT Score 1132 1237

SAT Math 590 646

SAT Critical Reading 543 591

RCE Score 60 66

Post Policy Change

Pre Policy Change

Race: Before and After

Admitting students

Matriculation

70

37

60

62

34

19

Matriculation + SATM

70/

735

37/623

60/629

62/696

34/564

19/478

Matriculation + Tilt

70/

47

37/130

60/-36

62/130

34/-10

19/13

Matriculation + STEM Degree

70/

73

37/71

60/62

62/67

34/51

19/54

The Outcomes I

Some applicants are missing

Simulated

TCS run

showed that

Accept rate

had

decreased to

78% of “first

half”

SIR Participation

Participation

in Student

Inquiry and

Research

increased,

with a

significant

bump in

SBES.

Graduation Rate

The Outcomes II

DEGREE FIELD PRE POLICY CHANGE

STEM 63.4

SBES 18.1

Professional 9.7

Humanities 6.6

Fine Arts 1.4

Unidentifiable 0.8

Percentage of students earning degrees in each field as reported by

National Student Clearinghouse.

Degree Profile

DEGREE FIELD PRE POLICY

CHANGE

POST POLICY

CHANGE

STEM 63.4 69.0

SBES 18.1 15.3

Professional 9.7 7.8

Humanities 6.6 5.4

Fine Arts 1.4 1.4

Unidentifiable 0.8 1.0

Percentage of students earning degrees in each field as reported for 781

graduates by National Student Clearinghouse.

Degree Profile

The Conclusions

Summary

Implementation matters

Increased student research participation, but

no increase in the STEM pipeline