Lakeside End-of-Year STEM Statistics

It’s (nearly) the end of the year! To celebrate, I have conducted a survey to look at student experiences in STEM classes, clubs, and extracurriculars. Let’s dive in!

Some quotes have been edited for clarity.

Classes

Overall, STEM classes got a rating of 3.88 out of 5, largely because of the project variety and fun. Pretty good! Now let’s look into more specific classes.

When asked if they enjoyed their math classes this year, 87.5 percent of students answered “Yes” or “Somewhat,” as the pi chart shows (hehe). Zane in 6th grade elaborated that “I feel like I know how to do almost everything, but I don't always do star problems.” In contrast, a seventh grader responded, “Somewhat” and added, “It's usually boring and difficult, but sometimes fun, and I usually score well on SPs.” In my opinion, Lakeside math classes are great. Math has taught me to see quick, creative solutions to problems, and I liked a lot of our projects.

Responses to “Have you enjoyed math class this year?”

Shifting to enjoyment of science class, 82.5 percent said flat-out “Yes.” Only a few answered “No” or “Somewhat.” Fifth-grader Jomart, who answered “Yes,” explained that he “did lots of interesting projects.” Karishma, an eighth grader, mentioned the fun projects in Earth Science, particularly one about tectonic plate boundaries. Personally, I think biology has been really engaging because of the many labs and dissections. Overall, it seems Lakeside’s science curriculum is engaging for students, and the teachers are fantastic!

Responses to “Have you enjoyed science class this year?”

Looking at enjoyment of digital life class, 52.5 percent answered “Yes,” closely followed by 32.5 percent who said “Somewhat.” Lihan in 7th grade answered “Yes,” and said “For sure. I like robotics [his digital life elective] because our robotics team literally cooked. It was a lot of fun with friends.” I agree with Lihan; robotics has been a really fun class, with the perfect balance between learning new things and practicing old skills.

Responses to “Have you enjoyed digital life class this year?”

Clubs

Students rated STEM clubs a 3.6 out of 5, which was similar to STEM classes. Math Club is the most popular STEM club, according to this survey. It is closely followed by Chess Club, which is then followed by Science Olympiad and Board Game Club (which uses math-like logic, qualifying it as a STEM club).

Form respondents spread among STEM clubs

Eighth-grader Eason commented, “Math club has been really fun, and collaborating on certain projects with my peers has also been a lot of fun.” Owen, in seventh grade, is a part of Chess Club and explained that “chess club is a fun experience because it is laid back and chill. […] Overall it is a fun way to connect with friends.” A Board Game Club member described the club as “really chill” and mentioned the game Catan. A Science Olympiad member responded, “SciOly has been really fun, and the competition experience was exciting.” Students shared positive experiences about many other clubs, such as Anatomy Academy and Aviation Club.

Extracurriculars

Many of Lakeside’s students take STEM-related extracurriculars, and many of these extracurricular activities are focused on math.

Responses to “Are there any other STEM extracurriculars you take?”

An Art of Problem Solving student wrote, “AoPS is so fun! It has made learning math a great experience. I do the self-paced course, and it is completely [tailored to] me. I would recommend it to everyone.” Other math classes outside of school include Think Academy and RSM (Russian School of Mathematics). Here’s what Yiheng in 7th grade had to say about Think Academy: “It's interesting; the homework takes forever, though.” Nico in 8th grade concurred, saying that math extracurriculars are “pretty good but almost always a lot of extra work.” Some non-math-related activities included coding and robotics, with enthusiastic responses about these as well. All in all, STEM extracurricular activities’ rating averaged a solid 3.9 out of 5.

STEM has been a big part of students’ lives this school year, and we have all gained useful knowledge and special experiences from classes, clubs, and extracurriculars. With focuses ranging from math to chess to technology to dissections, our students report lots of enjoyment. I hope that you end the year with fond STEM memories to look back on and that you are excited for more STEM fun next school year!