demographic imbalances in undergraduate economics attrition
TRANSCRIPT
Demographic Imbalances in Undergraduate Economics Attrition
Anastasia'Golovashkina'[email protected]
Introduction
Literature
Female'Students'(literature1already1extensive;18indings1consistent)1• Dynan1&1Rouse1(1997),1Benedict1&1Hoag1(2002),1Swope1&1Schmitt1
(2006),1Rask1&1Tiefenthaler1(2008),1Emerson1et1al.1(2012),1etc.''• Find'women'tend'to'earn'higher'Economics'grades,'but'are'more'
sensitive'to'low'grades'�'higher'attrition'''Low=Income'Students'(no1literature1on1attrition1from1Economics)'• More1generally,1lowOincome1students1tend1to1major1in1qualitative1
8ields,1earn1lower1grades,1drop1out1at1higher1rates,1etc.1(Aries12008)11
Minority'Students'(literature1exists,1but1very1limited)'• Borg1&1Stranagan1(2002)18ind1black1students1earn1comparable1grades,1
but1rarely1“star1performers”1in1Economics1
• Minority1students1face1acutely1severe18inancial1pressures,1but1income1
can’t1fully1explain1racial1gaps1in1academic1performance1&1outcomes1
Research Question
• Do1students1of1certain1demographics1switch1out1more1than1others?1If1yes,1why?1
• Do1relationships1identi8ied1in1the1literature1for1women1(grade1sensitivity)1help1explain1higher1
rates1of1attrition1among1other1groups?1
Data Source
• N=3,2641undergraduates1from1entering1classes1of12005O20101at1a1midOsized1selective1university1
• Population1of1students1who1completed1prerequisite1Introductory1Economics1as1a1freshman/sophomore1&1
at1least1one!intermediate,1majorOspeci8ic1course1
Data Source
Model
• Tested1wide1variety1of1(modi8ied)1grade1sensitivity1models1adopted1from1literature1
– Including1Dynan1&1Rouse1(1997),1Rask1&1Tiefenthaler1(2008),1Emerson1et1al.1(2012)1
• Proceeded1with1closer1examination1of1topOperforming1model1on1segmented1male/female,1highO/lowOincome,1
white/minority1student1subgroups1
Finding #1: Attrition Gap Summary
• Female,1lowOincome,1and1minority1students1all1switch1out1of1the1major1at1higher1rates1
• Female1&1lowOincome1student1attrition1is1concentrated1between18irst1&1second1course1
– Echoes18indings1about1female1students1in1Horvath1(1992),1Robb1&1Robb1(1999),1Chizmar1(2000)1
• Racial1gap1readily1apparent1&1growing1throughout1• Minority1dummy1has1sizable,1signi8icant1negative1coef8icient1in1all1segmented1cohort1regressions1
Finding #1: Gender Attrition Gap
Finding #1: Income Attrition Gap
Finding #1: Racial Attrition Gap
Finding #1: Racial Attrition Gap
Finding #1: Racial Attrition Gap
Finding #2: Grades & Demographics
• Female1students1average1signi8icantly1higher1grades1than1male1
• LowOincome1students1average1comparable1grades1to1highOincome11
• Minority1students—particularly1Black1&1Hispanic
—average1overwhelmingly!lower1grades1than1students1of1other1races,1especially1white1&1foreign1
Finding #2: Grades & Demographics
Finding #2: Grades & Race
Finding #3: Grade Sensitivity
• Though1all1students1respond1to1grades,1women1have1uniquely1strong1negative1response1to1Ds1&1Fs11
• For1all1other1demographics,1grades1trace1quadratic1pattern1across1grade1distribution1
Finding #3: Grade Sensitivity
Finding #3: Grade Sensitivity
Finding #4: Beyond Demographics
• Interest,1course(s)'taken,1SAT'scores1also1have1signi8icant,1sizable1effects1on1full1student1population1&1
all1demographic1subgroups1separately1
Finding #4: Beyond Demographics
Summary of Findings
Does'grade'sensitivity'explain'a'substantial'piece'of'attrition'among'other'groups?1
Summary: Female Students
Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition'• Earn1higher1grades1on1average,1but1uniquely1sensitive1to1very1low1grades1(literature1�)1
• Heavily1overrepresented1among1students1whose18irst1course1is1an1elective1(61.2%1vs.144.8%)—important1
because1attrition1concentrated1at1early1stages1
• Lower1SAT1math1scores1(6461vs.1661)11!Not!Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition!• Lack1of1interest1(proportionally1represented1in1Economics/Business1interest;1overrepresented1in1Social1Science)1
Summary: Female Students
Summary: Low-Income Students
Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition'• Lower1SAT1math1scores1(6461vs.1660)11• Lower1preOcollegiate1interest1(28.4%1vs.138.8%)—important1because1attrition1concentrated1at1early1stages1
• First1course1taken1(much1more1than1for1highOincome)1!Not!Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition!• Low1high1school/college1grades1(comparable1academic1performance1throughout1high1school1&1college)1
Summary: Low-Income Students
Summary: Minority Students
Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition'• Not1just1“lacking1star1performers”—much1weaker1academically,1across1the1board1(Economics1grades,1college1
&1high1school1GPAs,1SAT1scores,1etc.)1
• Black1&1Hispanic1performance1gaps1most1severe,1particularly1vs.1white1&1foreign1students1
• First1course1taken1(not1as1important1as1for1other1groups)1!Not!Contributors'to'Higher'Attrition!• Lack1of1interest1(heavily1overrepresented!in1key1interest1areas—37.6%1in1Economics,124.3%1in1Business,1vs.123.9%)1
Summary: Minority Students
Most Important?
Findings1suggest1the1single1best1thing1for1promoting1
equal1opportunity1across1the1board1is1a1strict'undergraduate'curriculum'featuring:1• Microeconomics1&1Macroeconomics1• Math1(Calculus1&1Statistics)1
Questions
Anastasia'Golovashkina'[email protected]
Presentation Appendix
(the1remaining1slides1were1not1presented,1but1are1
included1as1a1supplementary1reference1for1the1Q&A1
portion1of1my1presentation)1
Data Source
Model Building & Selection
• Model'(1):11– Second'Course:1…1β4Econ1!Grade1+!β5GPA1!…11– Economics'Major:1…1β4Econ1!Grade1+!β5GPA1!+1β6Econ2!Grade1+!β7GPA2!+1…1
• Model'(2):1…1β4Econ!Grade1!+1(β5Econ!Grade1)21+!β6GPA1!+1…1
• Model'(3):1β4Econ!Grade1!+!β5Econ1!≥A>!+!β6Econ1!≤D+!+1β7GPA1!+1…!!
• Model'(4):1…1β4Relative!Grade1!…!• Model'(5):1…1β4Econ1!Grade!+!β5Relative!Grade1!Q1!+!β6Relative!Grade1!Q4!+1β7GPA1!+1…1
Model (1)
Model (2)
Model (3)
Model (4)
Model (5)