Chapter: 1 Science & Engineering Indicators 93
Student SME Intentions Change Over Time
Educators have long assumed that college students who major in science, mathematics, or engineering (SME) are made up
of a core of students who became interested in these fields early on. However, data drawn from the 1986 third followup of the High School and Beyond 1980 sophomore cohort suggest that comparatively few students stay with their early interests. (See figure 1-6.) Only 18 percent of the high school sophomores who said in 1980 that they planned an SME major remained in SME by 1986. (Students who were sophomores in 1980 would, presumably, be college
seniors by 1986 if they continued directly from high school through college.) Thus, 82 percent of SME majors had different plans as high school sophomores or changed their minds several times during their academic careers. Nearly 60 percent of those
who eventually went on to major in SME had no plans to do so when they were high school sophomores. Indeed, nearly as many students decided to major in SME after their sophomore year of college as stayed with a decision to major in SME as high school
sophomores. This finding suggests that educators concerned about the development of engineers, mathematicians, and scientists for the future need to look to other fields and help smooth the transition of students from one major to another.
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