Recent years have seen efforts to increase STEM education in schools that the United States has not witnessed since the Cold War (Dean, 2005). One way in which schools have attempted to meet this goal is the inclusion of makerspaces (sometimes referred to as STEM labs, STEAM labs, innovation centers). Their goal is to shirk "traditional" learning spaces. These are rooms or open areas which allow students to explore STEM in ungraded activities, guided by helpful adults. Students can explore and create in self-directed ways. The equipment, materials, staffing, and products vary from school to school, but the "maker mindset" is fairly consistent. These are places where students can explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in a low-pressure environment, they are expected to stumble and fail, but they are also expected to persevere and grow. The academic yields of these spaces, however, have not been proven. This mixed-method study compared student users and non-users of makerspaces from three public middle schools in the suburban Northeast. The schools have all had makerspaces running for at least three years, and the schools are all socioeconomically similar. Three sources of data were examined. First, fourth grade Math, English Language Arts, and Science standardized test scores from before the students were exposed to the makerspace were compared with the eighth-grade standardized test scores in the same content areas of the same students. Second, educators who play a key role in the spaces' operation were interviewed to identify the spaces' qualities, offerings, perceived strengths, and goals. Third, site visits were conducted to analyze the structure (e.g. qualities, offerings) and function (e.g. objective strengths, conveyed goals) of the various makerspaces. Additionally, a review of completed and in-progress projects provided a glimpse into students' interests. Finally, demographic information of "users" and "non-users" of the makerspaces were obtained from school records to provide additional levels of comparison between groups of students (e.g. gender, socioeconomic status, race). The fourth-grade assessment scores were used to investigate if students with higher scores were more inclined to become makerspace users at the middle school level. ANOVAs were calculated for each standardized test between groups of "users" and "non-users" of the makerspaces for each school. Multiple regression analyses sought to predict if baseline test scores and user/non-user status can predict students' future achievement on the 8th grade assessments. Interview data shed light on aspects of makerspaces that may impact student achievement and learning, from the perspective of educators. Site visits and observations provided information on the ways in which makerspaces met their stated goals. Although many districts are implementing and funding makerspaces, little is known about the effects they have on students' academic achievement and interest in STEM. Even less is known about what makes an "effective" makerspace. This study, through its statistical data analyses and qualitative investigation, develops an initial exploration of makerspaces' potential. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]