Inclusive STEM high schools increase opportunities for underrepresented students

Abstract

The authors report on a study of eight inclusive STEM high schools that are designed to increase the numbers of students in demographic groups underrepresented in STEM. As STEM schools, they have had broader and deeper STEM coursework (taken by all students) than required by their respective states and school districts; they also had outcome indicators that demonstrated substantial academic achievement and other measures of school success. One of the unique features of the schools’ was how their administrative structures were organized and how leadership was distributed among school administration, teachers, and sometimes students. Each school held a clear sense of its mission-driven purpose: to graduate students prepared for STEM college majors, including students from underrepresented groups. These schools blurred boundaries between formal and informal education, reconfiguring relationships among teachers, students, and knowledge.