NAGC 2013 Measurement and Modeling of Higher Order Thinking Skills
NAGC 2014: Revisiting a selective STEM high school admissions policy: 7 years later
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REVISITING A SELECTIVE STEM HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS POLICY: 7 YEARS LATER Christopher Kolar Carissa Rosine NCSSS/NAGC Baltimore 2014
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After 20 years, a selective, residential, specialty STEM school revised its admissions policy based on updated research into the identification of STEM talent, placing increased weight on the SAT Mathematics score and removing the Verbal/Critical Reading component from applicant ranking. Now that the first class admitted under the new policy has graduated from college, the institution is measuring the success of the policy change with respect to how well it identified students that persisted on the STEM pathway. This session will explore the changes in course taking, program completion, and college majors after the change.
Transcript of NAGC 2014: Revisiting a selective STEM high school admissions policy: 7 years later
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
