In my study, using transcript and survey data from several cohorts of students at three moderately selective universities, I modeled the relationship between first-year grades in introductory courses and student STEM persistence. However, their experiences can differ markedly from those of continuing-generation students, who do have a parent with a four-year college degree. First-generation students, who do not have a parent with a four-year college degree, make up an increasing proportion of the incoming population of college students. This post focuses on the results of a recent study that I conducted on the different experiences of first- and continuing-generation college students in their introductory STEM course sequences. How is performance in weed-out courses related to persistence in STEM fields? Because of the rigid structure of STEM programs, where students must pass first-year introductory course sequences to progress in the major, special attention must be paid to how students experience these classes. However, to date, comparatively less is known about how factors such as parental education may shape students’ grades in introductory classes and their responses to those grades. For example, prior studies have shown that women are more sensitive to their early STEM grades than men, leading to more women leaving STEM fields after earning poor grades than men with similar qualifications. Unfortunately, we know these weed-out courses do not weed out students evenly. Ostensibly, performance in these gateway courses signals to students that their prospects in the field are based on academic ability only-but we have good reason to believe there may be some noise, and perhaps bias, that undermines the strength of this signal. In contrast, a negative experience can have the opposite effect, discouraging the student not only from chemistry but also from related STEM fields. Student performance in these courses has a large impact on what a student eventually chooses to major in.Ī positive and encouraging experience in a first-year chemistry course, for example, might cement a student’s choice to major in chemistry. These courses, typically the introductory sequence for STEM majors, are often difficult and time-consuming. Conversations about STEM majors frequently consider the role of “gatekeeping” and “weed-out” courses at the undergraduate level.
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