Dissertation
First Collegiate Mathematics Grade and Persistence to Graduation in STEM
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/5539
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between college students’ first mathematics course and persistence to graduation with a bachelor’s degree in a Scientific, Technical, Engineering, or Mathematical (STEM) field. Half of all undergraduates who start, graduate with a STEM degree – a trend noted for decades.
Collegiate mathematics education research to date has mostly studied engineering students, who are the most persistent of all college students. However, students in the physical sciences are the least persistent of all college students. Since STEM students are the two opposite extremes of persistence, results for engineering may not apply to other students.
I analyzed academic records, for five years of all first-year students pursuing calculus-requiring STEM degrees at a large university, almost 4,000 total. Logistic regression revealed three highly significant predictors of graduation with a STEM degree; they are: the student’s first precalculus ⁄ calculus grade, starting mathematics course, and division of STEM first pursued. The mathematics grade was by far the strongest predictor for students seeking any calculus-requiring STEM degree; it alone would suffice for a fairly accurate prediction. The course, and first-choice STEM division have about the same effect as a one letter grade difference.
Half of the students who switched out of STEM did so by the end of their first year, and nearly all had switched at the end of their sophomore year. Almost all who switched out of a STEM division, switched into a non-STEM major. Almost all students who started a third year in a STEM degree program graduated with a STEM degree – a minor result with prospectively major practical use – later studies can presume that returning third-year students will earn STEM degrees, instead of waiting the conventional six years for graduation.
This study highlights the strong relationship for all degree programs between STEM students’ success in their first college mathematics course and STEM graduation rate. The institution gets no second chance. These results indicate that commitment to high-quality first-time mathematics courses, is a crucial part of any efforts to increase retention of students for all STEM degrees.
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Details
- Title
- First Collegiate Mathematics Grade and Persistence to Graduation in STEM
- Creators
- Tom Lloyd William Lougheed
- Contributors
- Sandra C Cooper (Advisor)Jo Clay-Olson (Committee Member)Nairanjana Dasgupta (Committee Member)Libby Knott (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Mathematics and Statistics, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 317
- Identifiers
- 99900581439001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation