Volume 2 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 55

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 53 programs. The current findings support prior studies that indicate students who are enrolled in choice programs perform better academically than those who are enrolled in traditional, bound- ary-driven schools (Deming, Hastings , Kane & Staiger, 2014; Glenn, 2010; Jeynes, 2012). The setting for the STEM program in the current study in - cluded instruction using the 5E model and project-based learning. The program is student-centered where students are encouraged to collaborate in order to solve real-world problems. The cur - riculum is advanced and inquiry is promoted. Findings from the current study support project-based learning where students are encouraged to work together in collaborative efforts. Again, consistently high SAT scores support the STEM learning environ - ment and may impact districts across the state in the creation of new meaning in STEM programs. College admission criteria includes SAT scores, ACT scores, and HSGPA. Where a student is unable to score high enough on the college entrance tests, a high HSGPA is beneficial. Likewise, when a student does not have a high HSGPA, it is necessary to score high on the college entrance exams. Findings from the current study indicate students in STEM programs scored well enough on the SAT to gain admission into college. Additional - ly, the mean HSGPA for most Hispanic students in STEM and choice programs was above 3.0. With the admissions require - ments for college, the complete package of adequate SAT scores and HSGPA will benefit Hispanic students. Overall, statistical analysis of the data provided by the current research showed no significant benefit for enrollment in a program where Hispanic students seek STEM endorsement within the district. Further inspection found data analysis might be flawed due to results found when the sample size of the pop - ulation was increased. In that case, statistical significance was found in most cases and enrollment in programs seeking STEM endorsement benefits Hispanic students. Research Question 1 was lacking accurate analysis due to the small sample size. However, findings from Research Question 1, where data points were duplicated in order to increase the sample size, may impact district STEM program structure in districts across Texas. Districts wishing to replicate the current study in order to evaluate the difference in their STEM and traditional programs will need more data points. A trend was noticed across Research Question 2 where His - panic students seeking STEM endorsement scored higher on the SAT and had a higher HSGPA than Hispanic students in tradition - al programs at the state and national levels. Research Question 3 findings were similar to Research Question 2 as Hispanic students in choice programs overall showed higher scores than those in traditional programs. Data analysis for Research Questions 1 and 2 may impact the direction of the district choice programs. The results of the current study support the district efforts to increase college-readiness rates. While the findings from Re - search Question 1 did not show a significant difference between STEM programs and traditional programs, district comparison with the state of Texas and the nation show otherwise. It is these state and national findings that have the greatest potential to sup - port new STEM programs. The researcher concluded Hispanic students will fare better academically in STEM or choice programs, rather than tradition - al programs based on the analysis of the larger STEM sample size. In addition, Hispanic students seeking STEM endorsement or enrolled in choice programs score high enough on college entrance exams to gain admission into a variety of colleges and universities. In light of the challenges faced by Hispanic students, removing the college entrance exam score barrier to college may increase the number of students who pursue postsecondary edu- cation. References Asunda, P.A. &Mativo, J. (2017). Integrated STEM: Anew primer for teaching technology education. Technology & Engineering Teacher, 76 (5), 14-19. Barnes, J. (2002). The SAT revolution. US News and World Report, 133 (18), p. 50. Carter, V. R. (2013). Defining characteristics of an integrated STEM curriculum in K-12 education. (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3566045) College Board. (2015). 2015 College board program results. Retrieved from https://www.collegeboard.org/program- results/performance Deming, D. J., Hastings, J.S., Kane, T.J., & Staiger, D.O. (2014). School choice, school quality, and postsecondary attainment. American Economic Review, 104 (3), 991-1013. Glenn, H. (2010). The emotional and financial impact of school choice in the Elizabeth City-Pasqustank schools . (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3411161)