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NORC at the University Chicago
NORC’s studies of education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics help decision-makers and educational institutions drive American innovation and competitiveness.

Business and government leaders have long recognized that more students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds must enter the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for the United States to remain competitive in the global marketplace. NORC has been a pioneer in tracking the STEM pipeline, starting in middle school: understanding the students, the educational choices they make, their career outcomes, and the economic and educational factors that influence their success. For example, NORC conducts the biannual Survey of Doctorate Recipients, which is the nation’s only source of data on the career outcomes of U.S.-trained science, engineering, and health doctorate holders.

Other examples of NORC’s STEM projects include:

  • A study funded by the National Science Foundation to understand the pandemic's impact on the country’s future STEM workforce, and its disproportionate impact on poor, minority, and underserved high school students. Using extant data from across the country we examined course-taking patterns before, during, and post-COVID, and the factors that went into these course-taking decisions.
  • A nationally representative survey of teens funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore their math identity, mindset, and course-taking behaviors. The study also includes a survey of parents to gather insights on how family context may influence teens’ attitudes toward math.
  • Fulton County Schools, Georgia’s fourth largest school system, opened its first two STEM magnet high schools in the fall of 2022. Their curricula were designed to be holistic, with STEM content infused throughout all courses as well as across mentoring, advising, counseling, and career experiences. NORC assessed the district’s implementation of the STEM curricula in its first year, capturing successes and pain points.
  • The College Board developed a high-dose, virtual math tutoring program to help low-income urban high school students in Chicago and New York City improve their SAT scores. NORC conducted a rigorous impact study to determine its impact, as well as an implementation study to better understand treatment students’ decision to participate in the program.

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STEM Experts

Highlighted Projects

A Data Dashboard to Promote Postsecondary Success

Developing tools to support college access and equity

Client:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Advancing Metrics for Sexual Harassment Prevention in STEM

Developing metrics to assess sexual harassment prevention, outreach, and response in STEM

Client:

National Science Foundation

Advancing Research & Communications in STEM

Raising the nation’s learning curve on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Client:

National Science Foundation

Artificial Intelligence in Graduate STEM Education

Examining the use of artificial intelligence in STEM graduate programs and its effect on diversity, equity, and inclusion

Client:

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Career Trajectories of STEM Doctoral Students

Studying STEM PhD students’ career trajectories using culturally responsive measures and methods

Client:

National Science Foundation

Carnegie Institution for Science Climate Study

Assessing the work climate and culture of a major research institution

Client:

Carnegie Institution for Science

Climate Study for the Canadian Economics Association

Examining the work situations of an entire field of economists in Canada

Client:

Canadian Economics Association

College Board Virtual Tutoring Program Evaluation

Assessing an intensive SAT math tutoring program for disadvantaged students

Client:

College Board

Combatting Pandemic Learning Loss

Providing data-driven insights to reduce COVID’s impact on STEM learning

Client:

National Science Foundation

Curriculum & Learning Improvement Project (CLIP)

Creating an innovative data ecosystem to support classroom instruction and education research

Client:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Evaluating Data “Bootcamp” for Biology Grad Students

NORC helps UChicago faculty assess the value of an immersive week at Woods Hole

Client:

University of Chicago

Examining Gendered Differences in STEM Persistence

Using ESM to help understand women’s attrition from STEM majors and careers

Funder:

National Science Foundation

From the Classroom to the Lab and Back

Teaching preschoolers math fundamentals to enhance later learning

Funder:

McCormick Foundation

Fulton County STEM Schools Study

An early assessment of how well new STEM high schools are serving those principles

Client:

Fulton County Schools

Graduate Research Fellowship Program Pilot Project

Innovating data collection methods to track National Science Foundation research fellowship outcomes

Client:

National Science Foundation

Graduate Schools’ Response to COVID-19

A rapid survey details how STEM schools coped with pandemic disruptions

Client:

National Science Foundation

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Evaluation

Examining the effects of the LSAMP program on students and schools

Client:

National Science Foundation

National Institute for Theory & Mathematics in Biology Evaluation

Assessing the impact of the first national center devoted to bridging mathematics and biology

Client:

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation Secure Data Access Facility

Ensuring security while expanding access to data on science and engineering graduates

Client:

National Science Foundation

Ready Classroom Mathematics Curriculum Evaluation

Correlating the use of Ready Classroom Mathematics with student achievement

Client:

Curriculum Associates, LLC

STEM Learning Opportunities Before & After COVID-19 School Closures

Examining COVID-19’s impact on high school math and science course trajectories

Client:

National Science Foundation

Survey of Doctorate Recipients

The only comprehensive data on U.S.-trained doctorate holders in science, engineering, and health

Client:

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics at the National Science Foundation (NCSES/NSF)

Venter Institute’s Genomics Scholars Program

Evaluating efforts to help community college students transition to four-year colleges

Client:

J. Craig Venter Institute

Youth & Teen Math Mindset Study

Examining how students’ perceptions of math and their own math skills influence their math performance

Client:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation