Patterns of Gendered Performance Difference in Introductory STEM Courses

TL;DR

This study analyzes gendered performance differences in large introductory STEM courses, revealing widespread gender gaps linked to evaluation methods, while such gaps are absent in labs and non-STEM courses.

Contribution

It provides extensive empirical evidence on gendered grade penalties across diverse courses and suggests evaluation methods in STEM lectures contribute to these disparities.

Findings

Gendered performance differences are common in large STEM lectures.

No significant gender gaps are observed in STEM labs or other disciplines.

Evaluation methods may interact with stereotype threat to influence gender disparities.

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.