Overall STEM Interest
939,049 graduates have an interest in STEM.
Expressed and Measured Interest
- 320,030 graduates have an expressed and measured interest in STEM, which is 34% of the overall interest.
ACT added a new STEM score to ACT student score reports in fall 2015. Our goal was to provide students and educators with greater insight into critical aspects of college readiness. This score, derived from the ACT mathematics and science scores, represents students' overall performance in these two subject areas. Recent research indicated that academic readiness for college coursework in STEM subject areas may require higher scores than the current ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in math and science.3 The findings of this research sparked the development of the ACT STEM Benchmark score.
The ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark was developed using the same methodology as the single subject area ACT College Readiness Benchmark. Typical grades in first-year college STEM courses (Calculus, General Biology, General Chemistry, and Physics) were combined in a single course success model to determine the ACT STEM test score that was associated with at least a 50% chance of earning a B or higher or a 75% chance of earning a C or higher in those courses. The resulting ACT STEM College Readiness Benchmark score was 26. Based on that Benchmark, only 20% of the 2015 ACT-tested high school graduating class was ready for first-year STEM college courses.
ACT STEM Benchmark scores are related not only to succeeding in individual math and science courses, but also to achieving longer-term outcomes. Mattern et al. (2015) showed that students with STEM majors who met the ACT STEM Benchmark were more likely to earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, persist in a STEM major, and earn a STEM-related bachelor's degree than those who failed to meet the Benchmark. Additionally, ongoing research suggests that providing STEM readiness information to prospective students may help facilitate the transition to college by aligning students' expectations with course demands.
939,049 graduates have an interest in STEM.
Subject | Percent Meeting Benchmark |
---|---|
Mathematics | 49% |
Science | 45% |
STEM | 26% |
Subject | Percent Meeting Benchmark |
---|---|
Mathematics | 58% |
Science | 54% |
STEM | 33% |
Race/Ethnicity | Percent |
---|---|
African American | 5% |
American Indian | 8% |
Asian | 49% |
Hispanic | 13% |
Pacific Islander | 17% |
White | 32% |
Two or More Races | 25% |
African American, N = 113,142
American Indian, N = 7,597
Asian, N = 54,062
Hispanic, N = 145,667
Pacific Islander, N = 2,905
White, N = 528,084
Two or More Races, N = 38,529
Gender | Percent |
---|---|
Male | 31% |
Female | 21% |
Male, N = 464,177
Female, N = 470,518
Race/Ethnicity | Percent |
---|---|
African American | 8% |
American Indian | 11% |
Asian | 54% |
Hispanic | 18% |
Pacific Islander | 23% |
White | 38% |
Two or More Races | 32% |
African American, N = 27,442
American Indian, N = 2,537
Asian, N = 20,950
Hispanic, N = 48,324
Pacific Islander, N = 856
White, N = 191,201
Two or More Races, N = 13,624
Gender | Percent |
---|---|
Male | 41% |
Female | 26% |
Male, N = 152,203
Female, N = 166,763
* Note: Percents in this report may not sum to 100% due to rounding.