GIRLS ON TRACK: PURSUING ADVANCED MATH FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO COLLEGE
Matthew R. Clark
North Carolina State University
Sarah B. Berenson
North Carolina State University
Girls on Track is an NSF program for middle-school girls that gives participants the opportunity at a two-week summer camp to learn math and technology through activity-based investigations related to urban-planning issues and the opportunity to gain public-speaking experience by presenting the results of their investigations. The program is directed by faculty members at North Carolina State University and Meredith College, both in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1999, 40 girls participated in the first year of the program, and we expect close to 80 girls at the second year of the camp in July, 2000.
Data sources for the first year include summaries of girls’ responses to survey questions about confidence in mathematics, attitude toward mathematics, interest in computers, computer skills, and career interests. The girls also completed a proportional-reasoning test, the scores of which are highly correlated with their scores on the state’s standardized algebra test. A longitudinal study will gather information about the girls’ choices of math courses in middle school and high school, their college major, and their career goals. We hope to identify factors that are associated with girls’ course selections, choice of college major, and career goals through middle grades, high school, and into college. By the end of summer 2000, we will have the initial data for the girls who participate in 2000 and the first set of follow-up data for the girls who participated in 1999. One of the primary research interests is to conduct longitudinal case studies with selected girls to gather more in-depth responses about attitudes and confidence and about factors that may influence their academic and career choices.
Reference
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. (1998, September). Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.