Inclusive STEM high schools increase opportunities for underrepresented students

Inclusive STEM high schools are relatively new in the U.S., yet they have policy implications for school reform, STEM initiatives, and improving opportunity for all students. Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee each have launched statewide initiatives to boost the number of inclusive STEM high schools — known as ISHSs. These schools accept students primarily on the basis of their interest in STEM rather than aptitude or prior achievement. The goal of this type of STEM school is to prepare students to be successful in a STEM college major by providing a program of studies with greater depth and breadth than their states require for high school graduation (Lynch, 2015; Means et al., 2008).  

ISHSs intentionally recruit and enroll higher proportions of students from groups often underrepresented in STEM — African-Americans, Hispanics, women, students from low-income families, and first-generation college goers. With admission by lottery, ISHSs are schools of choice; students are  interested in STEM and are willing to work hard in a college preparatory environment.