Predicting College Acceptance, Majoring in Mathematics and Science, and the Pathway to Teaching in Texas

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This Synthesis Project intends to advance understanding of the contributions of course sequences to acceptance at colleges of different levels of selectivity, to subsequent college majors, and ultimately to becoming a highly qualified teacher of mathematics or science. The analysis takes advantage of the Texas system database and clear pathway to teaching. Using the longitudinal THEOP (Texas Higher Opportunity Project) database with information making students available at two time points (with a third to come) the project intends to determine the advantages that high school mathematics and science course sequences accrue to: 1) acceptance of colleges of different selectivity, 2) majoring in mathematics and science at the college level, and 3) entering (or leaving) the pathway to teaching mathematics and science. Student data is augmented with high schools and colleges attended making it possible to study salient race/ethnicity differences in course taking, college acceptance, majoring in mathematics and science, and ultimately in choosing to become a teacher. The analysis not only addresses the key questions noted above but also draws on a synthesis of the literature to examine how the results vary by important high school and student demographic characteristics including not only race/ethnicity noted above but also gender, SES, parental college attendance, and aspirations. This project is intended and has promise to provide directions and evidence upon which future studies can be build to look at who actually becomes mathematics and science teachers after graduation as Wave 3 data for THEOP is collected and the study broadened to other states.