Outcomes

More than 400,000 students in more than 4,200 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are taking PLTW STEM education courses during the 2011-12 academic year. Students have enjoyed success in a variety of fields and disciplines and have taken what they learned with PLTW far beyond the classroom. Since 2004, PLTW has used an independent service to conduct follow-up student testing and measure the programs’ impact. Student assessments are gathered at the end of each PLTW course, rating student interest and engagement. Participating schools also conduct surveys on a local and state level, while our other partners contribute wider education assessments. What we’ve found is that, across the board, PLTW works.

• PLTW alumni are 5 to 10 times more likely to pursue engineering and technology classes than other first-year college students.
• On average, PLTW alumni have a GPA 0.21 points higher than the average GPA of all first-year college students.
• PLTW students surveyed in Wisconsin middle schools and high schools reported being more engaged in schoolwork than did non-PLTW students.
• PLTW students outscored a random sample of other career/technical students by 10 points in reading, 11 points in mathematics, and 10 points in science.
• 79 percent of PLTW graduates completed four years of college-preparatory mathematics and 63 percent completed four years of college-preparatory science.
• 97 percent of PLTW alumni said they planned to pursue a four-year degree as opposed to 67 percent of non-PLTW students.