A Preliminary Examination of Baltimore Ingenuity Student Outcomes: Classes of 2008 and 2013
Author: Durham, Rachel E.
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Urban Schools,Secondary School Mathematics,Secondary School Science,Acceleration (Education),Outcomes of Education,Middle School Students,High School Students,Program Effectiveness,Self Efficacy,Student Surveys,Online Surveys,Academic Achievement,Academic Aspiration,STEM Education,Advanced Courses,Grades (Scholastic),Credits,College Entrance Examinations,Graduation Rate,Advanced Placement Programs,Enrollment,Educational Attainment,Occupational Aspiration

The Ingenuity program was designed to &quot;provide Baltimore's brightest middle school students with a free, highly accelerated, and challenging mathematics and science curriculum&quot; (Ingenuity Project, 2014). It started in 1993 at two middle schools, one on the east side of Baltimore and the second on the west, but as of SY 2014-15 the program is in place in several middle schools and one high school. Students must participate in a competitive application process, and those selected represent some of Baltimore's brightest and most motivated students, a group who some worry is too often ignored in urban school districts. Participants benefit from an extraordinary opportunity for enriched, accelerated math and science course taking and mentorship. Students served by Ingenuity are less likely to be African American or receive free/reduced price meals than the district in general. The program serves approximately 270 middle school students (approximately 90 students in each grade) and 120 in high school (around 30 in each grade per year). Ingenuity Project is offered at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly) and in the middle grades at Hamilton, Mt. Royal, and Roland Park K-8 schools. Research questions for this analysis were developed using a participatory model that included staff from the Ingenuity Project, Baltimore City Schools, the Abell Foundation, and university researchers of BERC. Questions are primarily focused on whether the program has an impact on high school and postsecondary outcomes, as well as student self-efficacy. The analysis features a comparison with a set of similar students who never participated in Ingenuity. It also includes current and former participants' responses to an online survey about their career plans and progress. The findings show that a cohort of students who participated in the Ingenuity program &quot;during middle school only&quot; out-performed comparable peers in terms of high school academic behaviors (e.g., advanced course and AP exam-taking), and outcomes (e.g., course grades or SAT scores). Students who participated in the &quot;high school component&quot; also showed significantly higher outcomes relative to similar peers who did not participate, and were also more likely than comparable students to have completed a four-year college degree after four years. According to current Ingenuity students' survey responses, over 95% intend to pursue a four-year degree, and approximately three-fourths are interested a STEM field of study. Likewise, about 95% of former Ingenuity students reported they were enrolled in a four-year degree-granting college, with two-thirds studying for a STEM career. Respondents from both groups most commonly were interested in, or were pursuing studies in biology and/or medicine. Among alumni participating in the survey who are now enrolled in college, virtually all are making expected (or accelerated) progress towards a degree. The following are appended: (1) Timeline of Schools' Participation in the Ingenuity Program; (2) Matching Results for Ingenuity and Comparison students; (3) Methodological Details for Propensity Score Matching Procedure; and (4) Survey Constructs, Corresponding Questions, and Reliability Alphas.