Gendered Performance Differences in Introductory Physics: A Study from a Large Land-Grant University

TL;DR

This large-scale study investigates gender differences in physics exam performance and final grades, finding minimal and weak effects, and explores perceptions of performance and inclusion among students.

Contribution

It provides comprehensive analysis of gendered performance differences in introductory physics, including exam grades, final grades, and perceptions, with a focus on instructor gender effects.

Findings

Small gender differences in final grades for algebra-based mechanics.

Significant exam score differences in three out of four courses, with weak effect sizes.

No significant gender difference in perceptions of inclusion.

Abstract

Studies examining gender differences in introductory physics show a consensus when it comes to a gender gap on conceptual assessments; however, the story is not as clear when it comes to differences in gendered performance on exams. This study examined whether gendered differences exist on midterm and final exams in introductory physics courses and if such differences were correlated with a gender difference in final course grades. The population for this study included more than 10,000 students enrolled in algebra- and calculus-based introductory physics courses between spring 2007 and spring 2019. We found a small but statistically significant difference, with a weak effect size, in final letter grades for only one out of four courses: algebra-based mechanics. By looking at midterm exam grades, statistically significant differences were noted for some exams in three out of four courses, with algebra-based electricity and magnetism being the exception. In all statistically significant cases, the effect size was small or weak, indicating that performance on exams and final letter grades was not strongly dependent on gender. As an added dimension examining gendered differences, we investigated if differences exist when accounting for instructor gender. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered in fall 2019 to more than 1,600 students in both introductory sequences to explore students' perceptions of performance, class contributions, and inclusion. We observed some differences between students' perception of their performance and contribution when grouped by gender, but no difference on perception of inclusion.