The effects of a high school curriculum reform on university enrollment and the choice of college major

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effects of a high school curriculum reform on students' probability to enroll at university and to choose Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) as college major. The reform that was introduced in one German state increased the degree of difficulty to graduate from high school by increasing the mandatory instruction time in the core subjects German, a foreign language, mathematics and natural sciences and by raising the graduation requirements. Based on administrative data covering all students, the empirical analysis is carried out by applying a difference-indifferences model. The results show that the reform increased university enrollment rates for both gender. With regard to choosing STEM as college major, we only find a robust positive effect for males.

Secondary school subjects and gendered STEM enrollment in higher education in Germany, Ireland, and Scotland

“…On the contrary, according to Broecke (2013), increased learning intensity in sciences significantly affected the chances of doing a STEM degree in higher education for men only. The same gender pattern of men benefiting from intensified courses is reported in three studies examining recent curriculum reforms in upper secondary education in Germany (Biewen and Schwerter, 2019; Görlitz and Gravert, 2018; Hübner et al, 2018). In contrast, in the Netherlands a curriculum reform making math and science courses compulsory led to an increase in the number of female students both participating in STEM exams and entering science-related fields of study (Van Langen et al, 2008).…”

STEM Graduates and Secondary School Curriculum: Does Early Exposure to Science Matter?

“…Second, the policy I consider allows me to identify the effect of offering more (natural) science courses only, because it does not intervene on other subjects. Instead, changes in secondary school curricula usually imply a restructuring of many different courses and it is difficult to isolate the effect of one single subject [Altonji, 1995, Joensen and Nielsen, 2009, Gorlitz and Gravert, 2015, Jia, 2014. While my treatment also has multiple components, since taking advanced science also implies a change in classroom heterogeneity and composition, 8 I disentangle the curriculum from the peer channel, using an instrument for peers that exploits within-school variation over time in the ability of predicted peers, depending on whether the school offers advanced science or not.…”

The Impact of Upper Secondary School Flexibility on Sorting and Educational Outcomes

“…We contribute to the existing literature on the impact of upper secondary school curriculum on tertiary education and labor market outcomes. The existing literature typically focuses on the effect of specific courses or subjects included in the course curriculum on subsequent outcomes, with a focus on mathematics and science (Altonji, 1995;Levine and Zimmerman, 1995;Rose and Betts, 2004;Joensen and Nielsen, 2016;Sosa, 2016;Goodman, 2017;Görlitz and Gravert, 2018;Yu and Mocan, 2018;Ning, 2014). However, we differ in one major aspect: We estimate the effect of an increased choice set that allows students to choose courses based on personal preferences without putting any particular emphasis or value on the exact courses chosen.…”

“…See for exampleGörlitz and Gravert (2018) investigating reform changes in Germany; Ning (2014),Sosa (2016) andGoodman (2017) investigating reform changes in the U.S. andJoensen and Nielsen (2016) investigating curriculum reform changes in Denmark.…”