In Search of STEM Education Best Practices: An Empirical Model and Framework

Program Abstract: Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, this presentation highlights the findings of a three-year study using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) at the National Center for Education Statistics, to effectively measure the efficiency of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) graduating Hispanics with STEM degrees. The guiding research question was: On what input measures do we select efficient HSIs to serve other HSI institutions as benchmarks for program improvement in graduating Hispanics with STEM degrees? An outcome of this work is a framework for investigating and organizing 107 best practices at HSIs identified for increasing Hispanics earning STEM degrees. Participants can expect to learn about the conceptual nature of the DEA model and the research design for identifying best practices at benchmark (efficient) HSIs that Rising (less efficient) HSIs can consider for adoption to higher levels of Hispanics graduating with STEM degrees.