Recommendation: recruit more, retest, reach higher, retrain teachers and meet your college rep.

The purpose of this report was to provide a summative evaluation to determine participants’ level of preparation for postsecondary challenges, participants’ attitudes toward SECME, and the impact of SECME on the math and science performance of participating HISD students. To that end, the following research questions were addressed:

1. What were the demographic characteristics of HISD (Houston Independant School District) students participating in SECME during the 2001–2002 school year?

2. How well did HISD students participating in SECME perform on the SAT compared to non-SECME students with similar demographic characteristics?

3. What were the math and science courses and grades of HISD students who participated in SECME, compared to non-SECME students with similar demographic characteristics?

4. What were the attitudes of HISD SECME students toward the organization, and toward the fields of science, math, engineering, and technology?

Findings
• Data analysis revealed SECME students were no more prepared for college-bound tests than non-SECME students. That is, there was no difference in performance between the two groups on the SAT I. However, SECME students did have a higher participation rate on the SAT than did the control group, which may indicate that SECME teachers encourage their students to take the SAT I.

• An analysis of course enrollment data revealed that approximately one-third of SECME students were enrolled in science AP courses, while 28 percent were enrolled in math AP courses. Furthermore, an analysis of course grades in math and science revealed no statistically significant difference between SECME and non-SECME students.

• Survey results indicated that most participants believed they benefitted from SECME’s teachers and the activities and competitions. Furthermore, most SECME participants planned to pursue a career in science, math, engineering, or technology (STEM) and to major in STEM when they attend college.

• Lastly, the general attitudes scale revealed that 30% of the participants believed SECME had not helped them prepare for the college application process or for the academic challenges they will face in college.

Recommendations
1. Because of the large minority population in HISD, it is recommended that SECME teachers and coordinators continue to recruit minority students into its organization so that more students can benefit from SECME.

2. An analysis of SAT data revealed SECME students did not perform any better on the SAT than non-SECME students; therefore, it is recommended that SECME teachers encourage SECME students to prepare for college-bound tests such as the SAT I so they can pursue postsecondary endeavors in the fields of science, math, engineering, or technology.

3. Because AP courses and examinations help students prepare for postsecondary studies, it is recommended that SECME teachers continue to encourage participants to enroll in such courses and prepare for corresponding exams.

4. An analysis of course grades in math and science revealed no statistically significant difference between SECME and non-SECME students. Therefore, it is recommended that SECME coordinators encourage professional development for teacher participants in an effort to ameliorate the teaching efficacy of SECME teachers.

5. One of SECME’s goals includes preparing HISD participants for postsecondary challenges; therefore, it is recommended that SECME teachers and coordinators attempt to assist their students in the college selection and application process by creating a workshop designed to help juniors and seniors choose and apply to college.