ERIC Number: EJ1112551
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0655
EISSN: N/A
Investigating College Learning Gain: Exploring a Propensity Score Weighting Approach
Liu, Ou Lydia; Liu, Huili; Roohr, Katrina Crotts; McCaffrey, Daniel F.
Journal of Educational Measurement, v53 n3 p352-367 Fall 2016
Learning outcomes assessment has been widely used by higher education institutions both nationally and internationally. One of its popular uses is to document learning gains of students. Prior studies have recognized the potential imbalance between freshmen and seniors in terms of their background characteristics and their prior academic performance and have used linear regression adjustments for these differences, which some researchers have argued are not fully adequate. We explored an alternative adjustment via propensity score weighting to balance the samples on background variables including SAT score, gender, and ethnicity. Results involving a cross-sectional sample of freshmen and seniors from seven groups of majors within a large research university showed that students in most of the majors demonstrated significant learning gain. Additionally, there was a slight difference in learning gain rankings across major groupings when compared to multiple regression results.
Descriptors: College Outcomes Assessment, Achievement Gains, College Freshmen, College Seniors, Probability, College Entrance Examinations, Sex, Ethnicity, Scores, Majors (Students), Research Universities, Academic Achievement, Learning, Comparative Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: SAT (College Admission Test)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A