Differential Impacts of Family Income Background on GPA and STEM Retention among Undergraduate STEM Students Prior to STEM Intervention Program Implementation.
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| Title: | Differential Impacts of Family Income Background on GPA and STEM Retention among Undergraduate STEM Students Prior to STEM Intervention Program Implementation. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Surman, Amanda L.1, Gardiner, Amy K.2, Misheva, Taya3, Wiles, Jason R.1,3, Tillotson, John W.1 |
| Source: | Bioscene. Dec2025, Vol. 51, p53-61. 9p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Low-income students, *Grade point average, *STEM education, *Engineering students, *Graduation rate, Income |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Studies in the U.S. show that students from low-income backgrounds graduate with STEM degrees at lower rates than their higher income peers. Prior research attributes this disparity to factors such as academic under-preparedness, limited social and cultural capital, lower STEM identity, and a weaker sense of belonging. To address these challenges, institutions have implemented STEM Intervention Programs (SIPs) using a variety of targeted interventions. This retroactive study establishes a baseline understanding of how low-income and higher-income STEM students have historically performed in terms of graduation rates and cumulative GPA at a private, predominantly white institution (PWI) in the northeast United States prior to the implementation of an SIP designed to reduce disparities. Our results indicate that during this timeframe, STEM graduation rates for low-income and higher-income students at this institution were statistically identical, and GPA differences between low-income and higher-income STEM graduates were not significant. However, a larger percentage of low-income students took more than four years to complete their STEM degrees compared to their higher-income peers. These findings suggest that SIPs should focus on improving time to graduation for low-income students to enhance their overall success in STEM fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Bioscene is the property of Association of College & University Biology Educators and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 191883374 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Differential Impacts of Family Income Background on GPA and STEM Retention among Undergraduate STEM Students Prior to STEM Intervention Program Implementation. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Surman%2C+Amanda+L%2E%22">Surman, Amanda L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gardiner%2C+Amy+K%2E%22">Gardiner, Amy K.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Misheva%2C+Taya%22">Misheva, Taya</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wiles%2C+Jason+R%2E%22">Wiles, Jason R.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tillotson%2C+John+W%2E%22">Tillotson, John W.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Bioscene%22">Bioscene</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 51, p53-61. 9p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Low-income+students%22">Low-income students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+point+average%22">Grade point average</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22STEM+education%22">STEM education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Engineering+students%22">Engineering students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graduation+rate%22">Graduation rate</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Income%22">Income</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Studies in the U.S. show that students from low-income backgrounds graduate with STEM degrees at lower rates than their higher income peers. Prior research attributes this disparity to factors such as academic under-preparedness, limited social and cultural capital, lower STEM identity, and a weaker sense of belonging. To address these challenges, institutions have implemented STEM Intervention Programs (SIPs) using a variety of targeted interventions. This retroactive study establishes a baseline understanding of how low-income and higher-income STEM students have historically performed in terms of graduation rates and cumulative GPA at a private, predominantly white institution (PWI) in the northeast United States prior to the implementation of an SIP designed to reduce disparities. Our results indicate that during this timeframe, STEM graduation rates for low-income and higher-income students at this institution were statistically identical, and GPA differences between low-income and higher-income STEM graduates were not significant. However, a larger percentage of low-income students took more than four years to complete their STEM degrees compared to their higher-income peers. These findings suggest that SIPs should focus on improving time to graduation for low-income students to enhance their overall success in STEM fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Bioscene is the property of Association of College & University Biology Educators and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=191883374 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 9 StartPage: 53 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Low-income students Type: general – SubjectFull: Grade point average Type: general – SubjectFull: STEM education Type: general – SubjectFull: Engineering students Type: general – SubjectFull: Graduation rate Type: general – SubjectFull: Income Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Differential Impacts of Family Income Background on GPA and STEM Retention among Undergraduate STEM Students Prior to STEM Intervention Program Implementation. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Surman, Amanda L. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gardiner, Amy K. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Misheva, Taya – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wiles, Jason R. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Tillotson, John W. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 15392422 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 51 Titles: – TitleFull: Bioscene Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
