Nicholas Bowman, professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies in the College of Education, and researcher affiliate in the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI), recently published a study examining the impact of STEM course placement on the short- and long-term academic success of undergraduate students.
Many universities, including the University of Iowa, offer first-year students lower-level introductory science, technology, and math courses. These courses, which some students may test out of, are designed to provide critical foundational knowledge for future major-required courses.
However, prior research has indicated that lower-level courses can be counterproductive to student success, offering redundant course material that leaves students unengaged and unsatisfied in their STEM major.
Bowman and his co-authors, Frederick Ngo of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Jeongmin Ji of the University of Iowa, investigated the potential double-edged nature of lower-level courses for a group of 11,000 undergraduates enrolled at a Midwest public university between 2012 and 2019. All students took either a lower-level or higher-level introductory computer science, math or chemistry course. For the students that began in the lower-level course, they proceeded to the higher-level, major-required course the following semester or year.
The researchers measured students’ academic success through five dimensions: college grades, academic good standing, credits earned, retention, and graduation.
The results showed that the students that began in the lower-level course had strong short-term academic success. These students received higher grades in the upper-level course and had higher first-year GPAs than their peers who only completed the upper-level course. They were also less likely to be placed on academic probation and earned more credits within the major.
However, students who started in the lower-level course displayed weak long-term academic performance.
Unlike their peers who started in the upper-level course, students in the lower-level course were less likely to receive any bachelor’s degree from the university. Those who started in the lower-level chemistry or computer science course were also less likely to receive a bachelor’s degree in their intended STEM major.
To cultivate STEM persistence in both the short- and long-term, Bowman believes universities should “implement effective instructional practices, create inclusive environments within and outside of traditional classrooms, and help students see themselves as STEM professionals and scholars through research and applied projects.”
The study, titled “The Impact of Course Placement in STEM Sequences on Students’ Short-Term and Longer-Term University Success Outcomes,” was published in the journal The Review of Higher Education and was funded by the University of Iowa P3 Program in Support of Strategic Priorities.
To learn more about the CSSI researcher affiliate program and ways to become involved, click here.