2015 - Increasing Persistence in Undergraduate Science Majors: A Model for Institutional Support of Underrepresented Students

Attribution: Toven-Lindsey, Brit, Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc, Barber, Paul H., & Hasson, Tama
Researchers: Brit Toven-LindseyMarc Levis-FitzgeraldPaul H. BarberTama Hasson
University Affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles
Email: thasson@college.ucla.edu
Research Question:
Does the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS) program at UCLA help students to persist within STEM?
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: CBE- Life Sciences Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 14, No.2
Year: 2015
Findings:
  1. Results indicate that PEERS students, on average, earned higher grades in most “gatekeeper” chemistry and math courses, had a higher cumulative grade point average, completed more science courses, and persisted in a science major at significantly higher rates than the comparison group.
  2. Longitudinal comparison of students in the UCLA PEERS program shows that being a member of PEERS had a significant positive impact on multiple measures of academic success.
  3. PEERS students, on average, earned higher grades than non-PEERS students in the foundational introductory math and science courses that form the core science curriculum at UCLA- the gatekeeper courses that frequently pose an academic barrier to incoming science students.
  4. For PEERS students, improved performance in their science courses translated to higher first- and second-year GPAs and higher enrollments on average in science courses during the first 2 years, as compared with members of the three different control groups. In addition, 90% of PEERS students persisted in science majors during their first 2 year, a rate significantly higher than those of the control groups.
  5. The high SAT math control group represents those members of the control group with the best academic preparation, as measured by SAT math score. Yet PEERS students outperformed this group on numerous measures. Not only did PEERS students earn grades in their math courses that were comparable to those of well-prepared high SAT math control students, PEERS students outperformed this group in a number of chemistry courses, had significantly higher cumulative GPAs, took more science courses, and left STEM majors at a rate that was 50% lower.
  6. PEERS students outperformed the full control group and high SAT math control group in every comparison, ranging from individual courses to cumulative GPA, number of science courses, and persistence in science majors.
  7. With its holistic approach focused on academics, counseling, creating a supportive community, and exposure to research, the PEERS program serves as an excellent model for universities interested in and committed to improving persistence of underrepresented science majors and closing the achievement gap.
Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: CollegePersistenceRetentionSTEMSupplemental InstructionSupport ProgramUnderrepresented MinoritiesRegions: CaliforniaMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Quasi-ExperimentAnalysis Methods: Descriptive StatisticsPropensity Score Matching Sampling Frame:Undergraduate Students
Sampling Types: NonrandomSelf-selectedAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Quantitative-Longitudinal
Data Description:
  • The Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS) program at UCLA was established in 2003 to address the discrepancy between success and persistence of life and physical sciences majors from underrepresented backgrounds. Based on research related to students’ first-year experiences, programmatic elements include: 1) academic and career seminars; 2) holistic academic counseling; 3) research seminars; and 4) Treisman-style collaborative-learning workshops for the first year of math, chemistry, and physics courses. Combined, these activities provide students with encouragement, academic preparation, and positive peer-group motivation, factors shown to encourage persistence in science and math majors. Additionally, PEERS socializes students to the roles and expectations of the institution and their academic major, factors that are also positively correlated with persistence.
  • The study used two groups: 1) PEERS program participants (n= 147) and 2) a comparison group of students who were eligible for the PEERS program but did not to participate (n= 533). All students in the study entered UCLA during Fall quarter of 2009 or 2010.
  • The matched comparison group was generated using three key PEERS eligibility criteria: incoming science major, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) math score, and a composite value of “life challenge” factors. With a scale of zero to 12, this composite measure is generated for all UCLA undergraduate applicants using institutional data on high school characteristics, parental income and education, and other relevant background variables for internal monitoring and the development of student support programs and services.
  • Student information was collected from existing campus data sources. The authors used admissions data to determine students’ term of entry to UCLA, enrollment status, and declared major, as well as background characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, high school GPA, and SAT scores. They used registrar data to collect term GPA, cumulative GPA, science course enrollment, academic major, and grades in specific chemistry and math courses.
  • All students included in the study intended to pursue a life or physical sciences major when they applied for admission to UCLA. A majority of PEERS participants in this study were women (68%), students from URM backgrounds (78%), and life sciences majors (68%).
  • Because a fully randomized control was not possible for this study, the authors used a third control group comparison employing propensity score analysis using binary logistic regression to control for the potential effects of self-selection. The regression model used in this study included PEERS eligibility criteria along with other relevant demographic variables.
  • The authors also compared the outcomes of the PEERS group with a small sub-sample of high academic achievers (n=167). These were individuals that scored a 650 on the math section of the SAT or higher.
  • The authors particularly looked at individual course grade comparison, GPA comparison, science course enrollment and persistence in science and math majors.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:STEM Persistence and Retention
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts