Grade Disparities Associated with Student Demographics in Upper-Division Biology Courses Across Multiple Institutions

Area of Science:

• STEM Education Research
• Higher Education Equity
• Biology Education

Background:

• Introductory STEM courses exhibit grade disparities across various student identities.
• Few studies have investigated these outcome disparities in upper-division STEM courses, with mixed findings.
• Systemic inequities in STEM education are a persistent challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize grade disparities in upper-division biology courses (Genetics and Cell Biology).
• To examine disparities across multiple student identities over a decade at five institutions.
• To challenge student-asset/institutional-deficit perspectives by adopting a critical quantitative approach.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 10 years of enrollment data (N = 58,692 students) in upper-division Genetics and Cell Biology.
• Controlled for prior academic performance to isolate demographic-based grade disparities.
• Employed a critical approach to quantitative methods and an institutional-deficit framework.

Main Results:

• Significant grade disparities were found for women, PEER, first-generation, low socioeconomic status, and transfer students.
• Accumulation of privileged identities positively correlated with higher course grades.
• Grade disparities were more pronounced in Genetics than Cell Biology and varied by institution.

Conclusions:

• Systemic inequities observed in introductory STEM courses are also present in upper-division biology.
• Universities must shift from student-deficit to curriculum and institution-deficit models.
• Policies and practices are needed to address and mitigate equity disparities in higher education STEM.