Patterns of Gendered Performance Difference in Introductory STEM Courses

2016/08/26 by Benjamin P. Koester, Koester, Benjamin P., Галина Гром +3
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #FOS: Physical sciences #Innovations in Educational Methods #Online Learning and Analytics #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #School Choice and Performance

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1608.07565

openalex publication_date 2016/08/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Grades provide students with their primary performance feedback: signals which affect academic choices. Variations in grading practice among courses impose grade penalties (and bonuses) on students who take them. These grade penalties are sometimes gendered. Using extensive data from the University of Michigan, we report on patterns of grade penalty and gendered performance difference across 116 large courses. We find that significant gendered performance differences are ubiquitous in large introductory STEM lecture courses. They are largely absent in both STEM labs and in lecture courses in other disciplines. Exploring the features of these courses, we hypothesize that evaluation methods used in STEM lecture courses interact with stereotype threat to create these gendered performance differences.

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