After-school and summer programs provide important opportunities for youth to learn STEM practices and form STEM-related identities. However, there has been limited coordination across these programs to measure effectiveness toward learning outcomes. To better understand the constructs that are used to evaluate these programs, we searched key terms related to out-of-school time STEM learning on several education research databases. Our search uncovered 36 different tools. Across these tools, we discovered 76 measures, which were then grouped into 10 constructs based on similar themes. Constructs included: attitude toward science, career awareness and career interest, curiosity, engagement, home/school environment, interest, motivation, nature of science, self-efficacy, and STEM practices. Each construct is defined and clarified with examples from the tools. The review also considers tensions between attempts to standardize measures for evaluating program success and the need to account for equitable STEM learning pathways and adaptability across diverse communities.

The authors use data on high school students and teachers from Washington state to connect the observable characteristics and preparation of career and technical education (CTE) teachers to various non-test outcomes (absences, disciplinary incidents, grades, grade progression, and on-time graduation) of students with and without disabilities in their classrooms. The authors find that students participating in CTE tend to have better non-test outcomes when they are assigned to a CTE teacher from the state’s Business and Industry (B&I) pathway—designed for CTE teachers with 3 years of industry experience but no formal teacher preparation—relative to being assigned to a traditionally prepared CTE teacher. These relationships do not significantly differ for students with and without disabilities, despite survey data suggesting that CTE teachers from the B&I pathway receive little formal training in special education. These results suggest that content knowledge and experience may matter more than traditional preparation for CTE teacher effectiveness.