The North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM)

Project Background

The North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM) is best known for its residential program for 11th and 12th grade students interested in STEM, but its education mission extends beyond the boundaries of its Durham campus. In addition to its residential program, NCSSM offers advanced STEM coursework both through a structured pathway of online STEM honors coursework and open enrollment online STEM courses students can take on an ad hoc basis. These course offerings often fill gaps for students in their advanced coursework that their high schools may not have the capacity to fill. In addition to these academic year offerings, NCSSM also runs Summer Ventures, a four-week summer program in which academically talented high school students from across the state live on a UNC campus and participate in STEM research. The goal of Summer Ventures is to provide experiences that pave the way for productive STEM pathways as students transition from high school to universities and beyond. Through this portfolio of programs, NCCSM has the potential to expand STEM opportunities to students throughout North Carolina.

Aims/Goals

This project has two main aims. The first is to study the relationships between whether students participate in NCSSM’s online, residential, open enrollment, or Summer Ventures programming and the likelihood they enroll in college, continue to take STEM coursework, complete a STEM degree, or complete their degree earlier than other students. The project is particularly interested in identifying potential differences between the programs students participate in and these postsecondary outcomes. Second, the project will look for differences in participation and success by sociodemographic groups with the goal of understanding whether certain groups of students benefit more from participation in particular NCSSM programs.

Potential Outcomes/Impact

This work will provide useful information for current NCSSM programming and future efforts including the launch of the new NCSSM-Morganton campus. It will also provide helpful evidence for policymakers and stakeholders interested in NCSSM specifically as well as STEM career pipeline issues more generally.

People

• Troy Sadler
• Daniel Klasik
• Will Zahran
• Isai Garcia-Basa
• Jaime Elsner

Publications

Updates coming soon