Development of an Instrument to Assess Attitudes Toward Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

There is a need for more students to be interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ( STEM ) careers to advance U . S . competitiveness and economic growth. A consensus exists that improving STEM education is necessary for motivating more students to pursue STEM careers. In this study, a survey to measure student (grades 4–6) attitudes toward STEM and STEM careers was developed and administered to 662 students from two STEM ‐focused and three comprehensive (non‐ STEM ‐focused) schools. Cronbach's alphas for the whole survey and subscales indicated a high internal consistency. Statistically significant difference in means between students attending the STEM ‐focused and comprehensive schools on the two subscales of the survey and the overall survey were found. However, the explained variance for these results was approximately 1%. The survey is a useful tool to assess efficacy of STEM education programs on student attitudes toward STEM and STEM careers.