‘What Does It Mean To You?’: URM Student Meaning-Making of STEM Assessment Practice

Manisha Kaur Chase & Victoria Duke-Mariscal   |    Volume 21 Issue 2  |   

In light of higher education STEM institutional performance gaps in retention and graduation, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms through which under-represented minoritized (URM) student populations in higher education experience and react to the STEM classroom–in particular, assessment and grading. It is argued that grades in the STEM classroom may be an important site of student meaning-making wherein future effort and motivational action rests on the messages perceived here. The current study employed a quantitative survey (n=285) at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) seeking to understand undergraduate STEM student perceptions of grades and assessment relative to meaning-making of: (academic) self-concept, motivation, and perceptions from others. A primary aim was to investigate the extent to which the perceptions of these constructs differed for URM vs. non-URM students. While main-effect differences in perception were not found for all URM identifiers, significant differential perceptions were found for some outcomes by gender identity, transfer status, and an interaction of first-generation status and racial-ethnic identity. Student open-ended responses and future suggestions for research and classroom practice are also discussed.

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