Exploring the pre-instruction gender gap in physics.

Area of Science:

• Physics Education Research
• Gender Studies in STEM

Background:

• Gender disparities persist in physics education, with prior research linking college performance gaps to high school preparation.
• The origins of these high school preparation disparities remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the origins of gender disparities in high school physics preparation.
• To examine the role of conceptual assessment scores and test anxiety in these disparities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a select sample of students' performance on the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE).
• Statistical mediation analysis to assess the role of FMCE pre-scores.
• Examination of the relationship between test anxiety, course-taking, and FMCE scores.

Main Results:

• Women scored lower on the FMCE, a conceptual assessment of Newton's laws.
• FMCE pre-scores fully mediated the impact of high school preparation and social-psychological factors on exam performance.
• Higher general test anxiety in female students partially explained the gender gap in FMCE scores, independent of courses taken.

Conclusions:

• Timed conceptual assessments may trigger stereotype threat in female students, impacting their performance.
• Current concept inventory scores should be interpreted cautiously due to potential gender bias.
• Developing gender-equitable, untimed assessment formats is crucial for accurately evaluating physics understanding.