Last week I spoke with a columnist from Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education about my research, commentary, and overall interest in the advancement of underserved students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. She offered a series of questions, several of which I’ve been asked before: Why is it important to increase the number of minorities in STEM fields? What is happening with the National Science Foundation’s plan to consolidate funding for STEM education programs? What is the role of community colleges in STEM higher education?
Yet, one question in particular—although a seemingly obvious one to ask—resonated with me: What have been the success metrics for increasing the number of minority students in STEM majors?
An easy enough question to answer: degree attainment. Other measures include national parity between underrepresented groups and majority populations in graduate study, academia, and the STEM workforce. I could certainly come up with a number of responses, yet for me, this inquiry prompted more questions than it did satisfactory answers.
At a time when the higher education community is occupied by innovative initiatives, new and scaled-up programming, evidence-based policy recommendations, and other calls to action—all with the intent of meeting national completion goals—the meaning of success in STEM education is suddenly murky.
If we are to hold degree completion as the standard by which to measure success in STEM education, are we to include STEM associate’s degrees? Technical certificates? Many would say yes, yet the higher education research community has long focused on four-year degrees as the primary outcome.
Moving beyond the bachelor’s degree, does a medical degree suffice as success? Not necessarily, according to the National Institutes of Health, an agency with great focus on research degrees given the national need for more research scientists from diverse backgrounds. What about the low-income, minority, or first-generation STEM graduate who utilizes his or her analytical and problem solving skills in a non-STEM setting? Do we consider this a failure? Many research studies would say so.
These are hard questions to answer; the answer of course depends on who is doing the asking and who is doing the answering.
