Early success in academic studies, specifically General Chemistry, is correlated with the retention of students in STEM majors. At the Coast Guard Academy, it was found that general chemistry I produced inequitable results for African American, Asian, and Latinx students compared to the all-student average over a three year period. Additionally, an equity gap was found between male and female success. Success in the class is defined as a final grade of an A, B, or C. In an effort to close the equity gap the following modifications were made to the course: 1) POGIL was implemented in all classroom sections, 2) a project worth 5.0% of the grade was added as an assessment, 3) grades for all assessments were disaggregated to determine where the inequities were occurring and 4) the policy for awarding of Honors in the class was reviewed. The resulting grades for the following two years, post interventions, produced equitable results in final course grades but also revealed that individual elements of the course still produced inequitable results and need further analysis.

Achieving equity of outcome in general chemistry

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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