Medical schools with a diverse student body face the challenge of ensuring that all students succeed academically. Many medical schools have implemented prematriculation programs to prepare students from diverse backgrounds; however, evidence on their impact is largely lacking. In this study, we analyzed participants' demographics as well as the…

Summer Bridge Programs (SBP) have demonstrated success for underrepresented students in STEM fields. However, a review of published reports of these programs suggests mixed and some negative results with very few programs having been subjected to rigorous evaluations (Kallison & Stader, 2012; Sablan, 2014; Strayhorn, 2011). Utilizing a…

More emphasis should be placed on what can be done to help encourage and prepare students choosing STEM-based majors to enter college, be successful, and graduate. Summer bridge programs can provide pre-college experiences to help attract and retain future STEM majors by exposing them to experiences they would encounter in college math and science…

This paper addresses the transition of community college students to degree programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The paper presents the results of an evaluation of a two-week residential summer bridge program that recruited community college students from a wide range of academic, ethnic, and socioeconomic…

A place-based learning community called "Klamath Connection" was designed to improve the academic performance of freshman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors at Humboldt State University, a midsize public institution in a location geographically and culturally unfamiliar to the majority of its students. The…

The Texas statewide assessment of academic skills in 1997 indicated that >55 % of the student population failed to master the mathematics objectives set by the test criteria and 42 % of the mathematics teachers at the secondary level in the East Texas region were categorized as underqualified to teach mathematics at that level. The issue of…

Students (n=128) enrolled in 8 summer intensive physics courses for academically gifted students participated in a study to assess the effectiveness of such courses compared to ordinary year-long high school physics courses. Average gains achieved by students were comparable to those achieved by students in the ordinary-length courses. (Contains…

This study examined age and gender differences in global, academic, athletic, and social self concepts in a group of 311 middle and high school students (ages 12-18) attending science, mathematics, or computer science classes at a summer program for the academically talented. The self-concept scores were obtained from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem…

Findings reveal that students who are skillful in perceptual restructuring attain significantly higher mean achievement scores in science, in knowledge of science, and in the ability to apply what has been learned in unfamiliar contexts than students with low structuring ability. (Author/MA)

A follow-up study and evaluation were done on the effect of an annual 4-week academically intensive program for 50 St. Louis (Missouri) area high school junior and senior students. The program consists of two summers, the first offering general scientific experience and education, and the second providing students with the chance to conduct…

Upward Bound's National Demonstration Project "Science and Self-Determination" (SSD) awarded to the American Indian Educational Opportunity Program at University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1980 shares a common purpose with other Upward Bound Projects: to provide opportunity to low income and otherwise disadvantaged secondary students to…