Private sector inputs into public school preparation for careers in health care and STEM: An examination of cognitive skills development in the Johnson & Johnson Bridge-to-Employment program in the United States

We examine the impact of a STEM enhancement program (SEP) sponsored by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) entitled Bridge-to-Employment (BTE). Since 1992, J&J has funded and supervised 80 BTE programs in 19 countries aiming to increase the academic performance of disadvantaged students, enabling these individuals to successfully pursue higher education and careers in the health industry. We study the science, math and language arts grades of 236 BTE and 308 comparison students from ten BTE program sites in the U.S, and find that BTE participation slows the deterioration in math and language arts grades, but has no impact on science grades. We discuss the implications this research has for future evaluations of SEPs and for the formulation of future SEP initiatives.