Gender Differences in College Mathematics Grades and SAT-M Scores: A Reanalysis of Wainer and Steinberg

Wainer and Steinberg (1992) showed that within broad categories of first-year college mathematics courses (e.g., calculus) men had substantially higher average scores on the mathematics section of the SAT (SAT-M) than women who earned the same letter grade. However, three aspects of their analyses may lead to unwarranted conclusions. First, they focused primarily on differences in SAT-M scores given course grades when the more important question for admissions officers is the difference in course grades given scores on the predictor. Second, they failed to account for differences among calculus courses (e.g., calculus for engineers versus calculus for liberal arts students). Most importantly, Wainer and Steinberg focused on the use of SAT-M as a single predictor. A reanalysis presented here indicated that a more appropriate composite indicator made up of both SAT-M and high school grade point average demonstrated minuscule gender differences for both calculus and precalculus courses.     

College Course Grades for Dual Enrollment Students

This study compared college course grade outcomes, both during and after high school, of dual-enrollment students to those of traditional students. The study was based on a large, multiyear sample of Iowa high school and community college students. The results showed that while in high school, dual-enrollment students consistently outperformed traditional students in community college courses. However, much of the difference might be due to underlying differences in the two groups associated with the type of college the students chose to attend after high school (i.e., four-year vs. two-year). Dual enrollment students tended to perform about the same as traditional students in terms of post-high-school community college course grades. For students who enrolled in four-year institutions after high school, analyses of college course grade data suggested a small positive effect of dual enrollment on first-year college grade point average (GPA).     

Student Grades and Average Ratings of Instructional Quality: The Need for Adjustment

Abstract

The authors compared the average grades given in 165 behavioral and social science courses with the average ratings given by students to the instructors who taught the courses. Significant positive correlations were found between the average ratings for instructional quality and the average grades received by students. The courses in which the average grades were the highest were also those in which students gave teachers the highest ratings. Among possible reasons for the correlations are that better teachers attracted better students or that quality teachers provided more effective instruction, resulting in more student learning and, thus, higher average grades. Another explanation is that most college students tend to bias their ratings of instructional quality in favor of teachers who grade leniently (I. Neath, 1996). If correct, the latter reasoning begins to explain why the widespread use of student evaluations in the United States in recent decades has been accompanied by increases in the average grades that university students received. To prevent grade inflation, and particularly to avoid rewarding and promoting instructors who use increasingly lax grading standards, administrators should adjust student ratings of instructional quality for the average grades given for a course. In general, only courses near the extremely high and low ends in terms of students' average grades were significantly affected by the statistical adjustment.     

Evidence of reflective thinking across the curriculum: college experience versus individual courses

This study investigated how individual and course-level variables across the curriculum at a four-year college (college here refers to a higher education institution that offers undergraduate education but not graduate degrees) in the southeastern US impacted student reflective thinking as measured by Kember and colleagues' [2000. Development of a questionnaire to measure the level of reflective thinking. Assessment &; Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(4): 381–395] scale. The measure includes four constructs: (1) non-thinking (i.e., habitual action), (2) understanding, (3) reflection, and the deepest level (4) critical reflection. The construct of understanding – students' assessment of their thoughtful use of knowledge – was the only measure that increased with credit hours completed. Students (n?=?802) reported more thinking to comprehend in science courses compared to business and humanities courses. An interaction of subject areas and gender showed that males reported more reflection in business courses than the humanities or science courses, and females reported the opposite (i.e., more reflection in humanities and science courses and less in business courses). All students, and especially older ones, were more likely to report thinking habits as the result of an overall college experience than from an individual course. A small set (6.23%), however, who did not report reflecting critically as the result of college did indicate that the current course prompted them to do so. Deeper habits of thinking were reported in students who were awarded course credit for participation and for those enrolled in courses taught by more experienced faculty.     

Online Technologies Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning as Predictors of Final Grade and Satisfaction in College-Level Online Courses

This study was designed to examine performance as a function of grade and course satisfaction in online undergraduate level courses, specifically students' self-efficacy for online technologies and self-regulated learning strategies. This research included a sample (N = 815) of community college students enrolled in liberal arts online courses during a single semester. The results of this study showed that online technologies self-efficacy scores were not correlated with student performance. Of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire subscales, time and study environment and effort regulation were significantly related to performance. Students who scored higher on these subscales received higher final grades. In addition, rehearsal, elaboration, metacognitive self-regulation, and time and study environment were significantly positively correlated with levels of satisfaction.     

Toward a Predictive Model of Community College Student Success in Blended Classes

This retrospective study evaluates early semester predictors of whether or not community college students will successfully complete blended or hybrid courses. These predictors are available to faculty by the fourth week of the semester. Success is defined as receiving a grade of C- or higher. Failure is defined as a grade below a C- or a withdrawal. Method: Seven variables available to faculty are considered: gender, degree sought, students’ academic level, attendance for the first 4 weeks of face-to-face classes, scores on orientation extra credit assignments, grades on the first quiz, and grades on an early semester reflective essay. Logistic regression is used to evaluate the power of seven variables to predict successful course completion in 15 sections of two business courses: Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Research. Three hundred forty-three students were included in this study. Results show that completion of optional extra credit assignments offered during the first 2 weeks of the semester and performance on the first quiz are significant predictors of successful course completion. These results suggest that students’ self-regulation skill or learning presence in the community of inquiry model is a strong predictor of student success. A faculty-based model like the one presented here can help faculty to enhance their students’ chances of success by highlighting factors that predict successful course completion early in the semester.     

Gender Bias in the Prediction of College Course Performance

Is the relationship of college grades to the traditional predictors of aptitude test scores and high school grades different for men and women? The usual gender bias of underpredicting the grade point averages of women may result from gender-related course selection effects. This study controlled course selection effects by predicting single course grades rather than a composite grade from several courses. In most of the large introductory courses studied, no gender bias was found that would hold up on cross-validation in a subsequent semester. Usually, it was counterproductive to adjust grade predictions according to gender. Grade point average was predicted more accurately than single course grades     

Implementation of the Peer-Led Team-Learning Instructional Model as a Stopgap Measure Improves Student Achievement for Students Opting Out of Laboratory

In entry-level university courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, students participating in associated laboratory sessions generally do better than those who have no related lab classes. This is a problem when, for various reasons, not enough lab sections can be offered for students and/or when students opt out of optional available lab courses. Faced with such a situation, this study evaluated the efficacy of the peer-led team-learning (PLTL) instructional model as a potential method for narrowing the achievement gap among undergraduate students electing not to enroll in an optional laboratory component of an introductory biology course. In peer-led workshops, small groups of students participated in solving problems and other activities that encouraged active learning. Students led by peer leaders attained significantly higher exam and final course grades in introductory biology than comparable students not participating in PLTL. Among the introductory biology students who opted not to enroll in the optional lab course, those who participated in PLTL averaged more than a letter grade higher than those who did not. This difference was statistically significant, and the PLTL workshops almost entirely closed the achievement gap in lecture exam and final grades for students who did not take the lab.     

The Impact of Online Assessment on Grades in Community College Distance Education Mathematics Courses

Abstract

This study compared the impact of proctoring on the final course grades of community college students enrolled in distance education mathematics courses. The goal was to determine whether distance education students who are evaluated entirely online, in environments that are not proctored, receive grades that differ from distance education students who take proctored exams. In an analysis of 850 grades from a variety of distance education mathematics courses, 406 were given to students who were evaluated in a proctored environment, and the remaining 444 were a result of assessment that was conducted entirely in the online setting and was not proctored. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between the grades that were earned in any of the individual courses. Also, no significant difference was found when the grades of the 406 students who took exams in person were compared with the 444 who were assessed entirely in an unsupervised online environment.     

Comparison of anxiety levels of students in introductory earth science and geology courses

Students in geology and earth science courses were not anxious about taking these courses as measured by the State-Triat Anxiety Inventory. Students in each course were split into two grade groups. It was shown that students whose grades were in the higher group had low anxiety, which continued to be reduced during the course. Students in the lower grade group had high anxiety, which increased during the course. There was no difference between anxiety scores of males and females. In general, students who planned to elect additional courses had lower state anxiety and higher grades than students who did not plan to elect additional courses in geology and earth science.     

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT–Freshman Grade Relationships Across Gender and Racial Subgroups

Recent research has shown that admissions tests retain the vast majority of their predictive power after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), and that SES provides only a slight increment over SAT and high school grades (high school grade point average [HSGPA]) in predicting academic performance. To address the possibility that these overall analyses obscure differences by race/ethnicity or gender, we examine the role of SES in the test‒grade relationship for men and women as well as for various racial/ethnic subgroups within the United States. For each subgroup, the test‒grade relationship is only slightly diminished when controlling for SES. Further, SES is a substantially less powerful predictor of academic performance than both SAT and HSGPA. Among the indicators of SES (i.e., father's education, mother's education, and parental income), father's education appears to be strongest predictor of freshman grades across subgroups, with the exception of the Asian subgroup. In general, SES appears to behave similarly across subgroups in the prediction of freshman grades with SAT scores and HSGPA.     

Selected factors associated with achievement of biology preparatory students and their follow-up to higher level biology courses

This study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary for them to successfully complete follow-up courses in biology. A group of students who enrolled in a biology preparatory course, and subsequently, a follow-up anatomy and physiology or general biology course (experimental group) was compared to a group of students who should have registered for the preparatory course, but who enrolled directly into the anatomy and physiology or general biology course (control group). It was shown that there was no significant difference in their anatomy and physiology or general biology grades. Furthermore, only 16% of the initial group of preparatory students enrolled in and passed a follow-up biology course. Examination of the preparatory group using discriminant analysis ascertained that mathematics score was the principle discriminator between pass/fail groups. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the variables explaining the preparatory grade showed that mathematics score, reading score, and type of high school degree explained 33% of the variance. Of the students who did pass the preparatory course and enrolled in a follow-up biology class, their preparatory grade was a good predictor of their achievement (measured by follow-up course grade), as determined by multiple regression.     

The association of precollege use of calculators with student performance in college calculus

This study investigates how the use of calculators during high school mathematics courses is associated with student performance in introductory college calculus courses in the USA. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 7087 students enrolled in college calculus at 134 colleges and universities. They included information about students’ demographics, standardized test scores, and high school mathematics course enrollment and performance. Factor analysis reduced ten items describing high school calculator usage to two composites: how extensively calculators were employed and teacher-imposed restrictions on their use. Hierarchical linear models predicted students’ college calculus grades, reported by their professor, while controlling for differences between colleges and student backgrounds. The more extensively students had used calculators in high school, the lower their grade in college calculus. However, students earned higher college calculus grades to the extent that their high school teachers had limited calculator use on quizzes and exams and had restricted calculator use until paper-and-pencil methods had been mastered, which offset the negative association of extensive calculator use with grades. The effect sizes of both calculator composites were very small. Overall, the findings raise doubts about any substantial long-term effects on college mathematics performance of calculator use in high school.     

Announced Repetitive Tests as a Basis for Self-Directed Study and Evaluation

College students voluntarily took all their courses or one course on a pass-fail basis. The mean grade point average (GPA) before conversion to pass-fail for freshmen taking all their courses on a pass-fail basis was 1.67 (C-), which is significantly lower than the 2.26 (C+) for controls who wanted but were denied pass-fail grading. Even after returning to conventional grading the former pass-fail students continued to get significantly lower grades than controls. Juniors taking one course on a pass-fail basis received significantly lower grades, before conversion, in their pass-fail course (mean 2.07) than did controls who wanted but were denied pass-fail grading (mean 2.40). There was no compensatory improvement in the grades received in non-pass-fail courses.     

Motivation and Self-regulation in Community College Transfer Students at a Four-year Online University

ABSTRACT

Motivation and self-regulation were examined in a sample of community college transfer students enrolled in a 4-year, online university. The relation between motivation and self-regulation and students’ performance was examined, as was the association between these learner characteristics (i.e., motivation and self-regulation) and sociodemographic factors (e.g., marital status, employment status). Motivation was found to be significantly correlated with both semester and cumulative grade point average (GPA), while associations between self-regulation and performance were more limited. Further, motivation was found to be a significant predictor of semester GPA in a model controlling for sociodemographic factors and prior achievement. Motivation and self-regulation were also found to differ according to students’ sociodemographic status. For instance, transfer students with children under 18 were found to have significantly higher levels of motivation than nonparents. Those employed full-time had lower levels of self-regulation than did their nonemployed peers. Implications for further research on community college transfer students and online learning are discussed.     

Voluntary Remediation in Florida: Will It Blaze a New Trail or Stop Student Pathways?

The primary purpose of the study was to explore the potential impact of voluntary remediation on success in gateway credit courses (ENC1101 and MAT1033) and on minority and low-income students in Florida. Mean grades and proportions of successful students were compared based on remediation policies and students’ voluntary completion of a developmental course before taking the credit course. The study compared grades and success of 19,347 students in three Florida colleges. Students were enrolled in the credit courses in 2014 and 2015 (voluntary remediation policy, N = 10,703), or in 2012 and 2013 (mandatory remediation policy, N = 8,644). Additionally, 285 students who voluntarily remediated were compared to 1,527 students who bypassed remediation; all 1,812 students had tested below the credit threshold on a voluntarily taken placement test. The study was framed by Astin and Astin’s 1992 Input–Environment–Outcome Model and employed demographic and academic variables. Results suggest that the voluntary remediation policy in Florida that was intended to improve college completion rates in the state may bring the unintended, but not surprising, consequences of lower grades and proportions of successful students. Overall, statistically significant results (α = .05) showed fewer proportions of students earned a grade of C or higher in both courses once remediation became voluntary (12.8% decrease for English; 19.3% decrease in math). Results also showed a statistically significant relationship between remediation grades and success in the credit courses. Study effect sizes were small to moderate in these tests.     

What are the relative effects of reasoning ability and prior knowledge on biology achievement in expository and inquiry classes?

What factor(s) influence the likelihood a student will succeed in college biology? Some researchers have found the primary determinant to be the student's prior knowledge of biology, while others have found it to be reasoning ability. Perhaps the ability of these factors to predict achievement depends on the instructional method employed. Expository instruction focuses primarily on facts and concepts. Therefore, perhaps the best predictor of achievement in expository classes is domain-specific prior knowledge. Inquiry instruction focuses more on how science is done, i.e., on scientific processes; therefore, perhaps the best predictor in inquiry classes is reasoning ability. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Students enrolled in a nonmajors community college biology course were pretested to determine reasoning ability and prior knowledge. The number of previous biology courses was also recorded as an indicator of prior knowledge. After a semester of either expository or inquiry (learning-cycle) instruction, students took a comprehensive final examination. Reasoning ability but not prior knowledge or number of previous biology courses accounted for a significant amount of variance in final examination score in both instructional methods and with semester examination and quiz scores in inquiry classes. This suggests that reasoning ability limits achievement more than prior knowledge among these biology students, whether they are enrolled in expository or inquiry classes. Reasoning ability explained more of the variance in final examination scores for students enrolled in expository classes (18.8%) than in inquiry classes (7.2%). The reason for this is not clear, but significant improvements in reasoning were found in the inquiry but not in the expository classes. These improvements were accompanied by significant differences in achievement in the inquiry classes. Perhaps the reasoning improvement facilitated the better and more equal achievement for students in the inquiry classes, thus reducing the correlation between initial reasoning ability and final achievement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 89-103, 1998.     

Patterns of parental reaction to student grades

Factor analysis of questionnaire responses produced by over 6,000 individuals revealed parental reactions to good and bad grades grouped themselves into five categories: (1) Grades are important to me; bad ones lead to negative consequences; (2) Good grades are important to me, but I will support you regardless of grade; (3) Bad grades make me mad; (4) Do your best, but there is more to life than grades; and (5) Grades are important; you will know how I feel on the basis of a joking comment. When these patterns were related to reports of specific student actions in college, such as getting good grades, dropping a course, or cheating on an examination, results indicated only a few significant negative correlations, and only for students whose parents reacted to bad grades in a negative emotional way; i.e., in terms of categories 1 and 3. More benign reactions - categories 2, 4, and 5 - did not correlate either positively or negatively with student actions or grades. Results were taken to suggest that parental reactions to grades are not only attempts at changing student behavior but also may be viewed as emotional responses expressing personal needs and values.     

IMPACT OF FULL-TIME VERSUS PART-TIME INSTRUCTOR STATUS ON COLLEGE STUDENT RETENTION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SEQUENTIAL COURSES

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relation between full - time or part - time instructor status and college student retention and academic performance in sequential courses . Results indicate that for either developmental or regular courses, college students who take the first course in a sequence from a part - time instructor , and who take the second course in the sequence from a full - time instructor seem underprepared for the second course. By contrast to students experiencing other instructor status combinations (part - time / part - time , full - time / part - time , or full - time / full - time), these students are significantly less likely to either complete or achieve a grade of "C" or better in the second course. Sequential course instructor status, therefore, seems to be a predictor of college student success. Implications for practice pertaining to further research, college students, and institutions are discussed.     

Diversity courses and students’ moral reasoning: a model of predispositions and change

The purpose of this study was to examine how moral reasoning develops for 236 students enrolled in either a diversity course or a management course. These courses were compared based on the level of diversity inclusion and type of pedagogy employed in the classroom. We used causal modelling to compare the two types of courses, controlling for the effects of demographic (i.e., race, gender), curricular (i.e., previous course-related diversity learning) and pedagogical (i.e., active learning) covariates. Results showed that students enrolled in the diversity course demonstrated higher levels of moral reasoning than students enrolled in the management course. In addition, results show that previous diversity courses as well as current enrolment in a diversity course contributed to moral reasoning gains. Implications are discussed.