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Table 5 Mean (± SD) DoS ratings for STEM-focused afterschool programs that equated to lower, average, or higher levels of STEM program quality by domain and by dimension

From: From quality to outcomes: a national study of afterschool STEM programming

DoS domain

Lower quality

Average quality

Higher quality

Overall STEM program quality

2.17 ± 0.53

2.99 ± 0.26

3.67 ± 0.13

Features of the Learning Environment

2.68 ± 0.33

3.54 ± 0.25

4.00 ± 0.03

 Organization

2.54 ± 0.64

3.41 ± 0.58

4.00 ± 0.01

 Materials

3.00 ± 0.58

3.67 ± 0.48

4.00 ± 0.07

 Space utilization

2.51 ± 0.64

3.55 ± .051

4.00 ± 0.02

Activity Engagement

2.00 ± 0.07

3.09 ± 0.36

3.95 ± 0.07

 Participation

2.07 ± 0.40

3.25 ± 0.67

3.92 ± 0.18

 Purposeful activities

2.13 ± 0.72

3.15 ± 0.55

4.00 ± 0.03

 STEM engagement

1.79 ± 0.51

2.89 ± 0.69

3.95 ± 0.15

STEM Knowledge and Practices

1.48 ± 0.36

2.58 ± 0.41

3.51 ± 0.24

 STEM content learning

1.49 ± 0.64

2.61 ± 0.78

3.57 ± 0.40

 Inquiry

1.71 ± .052

2.94 ± 0.67

3.56 ± 0.51

 Reflection

1.26 ± 0.37

2.20 ± 0.70

3.51 ± 0.46

Youth Development in STEM

1.83 ± 0.31

2.87 ± 0.35

3.73 ± 0.15

 Relationships

2.35 ± 0.80

3.71 ± 0.49

4.00 ± 0.01

 Relevance

1.35 ± 0.52

2.25 ± 0.85

3.54 ± 0.46

 Youth voice

1.78 ± 0.58

2.66 ± 0.62

3.66 ± 0.39

  1. Note: DoS dimensions are rated on a 4-point scale from 1 (evidence absent) to 4 (compelling evidence), where the goal is to achieve an average rating of 3 (reasonable evidence) or higher. Sample size for overall STEM program quality was as follows: lower, n = 279 students across 28 programs; average, n = 972 students across 91 programs; higher, n = 348 students across 27 programs