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Techbridge Girls Final Evaluation Report (2019-2020)
Year Published: 2020
This 2020 evaluation of Techbridge Girls during the 2019-2020 school year summarizes the organization's success in increasing STEM identity and awareness, STEM self-efficacy, and socio-emotional skills for girls from historically marginalized groups, particularly through the Inspire program–an afterschool program focused on getting 4th and 5th grade girls from low-income communities excited about STEM.
Program Name: Techbridge Girls
Program Description:
Techbridge Girls designs and delivers gender-responsive and culturally-relevant STEM curricula and professional development. Their programs use hands-on learning and exposure to role models to build interest, confidence, and socio-emotional skills. The Inspire, Changemakers, and Achievers programs are designed to excite, educate, and equip girls of color and gender-expansive youth from marginalized communities in STEM fields. These programs are designed to provide a pathway for participants from elementary through high school and are implemented primarily through out-of-school time educators.
Scope of the Evaluation: Multi-city
Location: Oakland, CA; Washington, D.C; and the Seattle, WA area
Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Program Demographics:
The evaluation focused on groups historically marginalized in STEM. 100% of participants identify as girls. Of participants who completed the survey, the racial/ethnic breakdown is as follows: 31% African American, 31% Hispanic, 19% White, 19% another race/ ethnicity, 12% Asian, 10% African, 9% Middle Eastern, 7% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 4% Asian Indian, and 1% American Indian or Alaska Native. Techbridge Girls primarily serves girls from low-income families.
Program Website: https://www.techbridgegirls.org/
Evaluator: Stromholt, S., Aspect Research + Evaluation
Evaluation Methods:
This evaluation employs a mixed-methods approach, drawing upon retrospective pre-surveys (for Inspire girls), educator surveys, and a staff debrief/focus group (for Changemakers and Achievers). Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis, with results disaggregated by race/ethnicity.
Evaluation Type: Non-experimental
Summary of Outcomes:
The evaluation of the Techbridge Girls programs for the 2019-2020 school year indicated success in supporting girls' development of STEM pathways, especially for those from groups historically marginalized in STEM. For participants in the Inspire program, most girls reported high engagement, interest, and recognition of their contributions to the work. Crucially, girls in Inspire became more aware of STEM pathways and new possible futures, and increased their intent to pursue STEM. At the end of their program, girls in the Inspire program showed significant growth in:
1. STEM Identity and Awareness: Participants became more aware of STEM pathways, grew in their intent to pursue STEM, and felt that their identities could be represented in STEM fields. For instance, approximately 9 in 10 survey respondents agreed that working in STEM is a good career for women (87%), that engineering is useful for solving everyday problems (93%), and that someone like them could be a scientist/engineer or work in technology (87%).
2. STEM Self-Efficacy: Participants grew their confidence and performance in STEM subjects. Compared to the start of the program, survey responses indicated that participants were much more likely to report that they do well in science (20% vs. 87%), technology (40% vs. 73%), and engineering activities (80% vs. 93%).
3. Socio-emotional Learning: Participants reported building a strong sense of community and confidence in understanding complicated ideas. Most girls showed gains in their ability to understand complex ideas (20% vs. 60%), to figure out how to learn things (60% vs. 80%), and to understand what others are thinking or feeling (53% vs. 73%). Additionally, most girls felt that they were part of a community within Techbridge Girls (approximately 85%).
In addition, Inspire educators reported high confidence in implementing the program and found the training useful for promoting equity and career connections in STEM. Educators also found the program helpful for providing girls with opportunities to engage in work performed by engineers and scientists, promoting positive relationships among girls, and enabling them to practice socal and emotional skills.
