Bowman Leads Study on Benefits of URM and First-Gen STEM Students in Classrooms

Nicholas Bowman, senior research fellow in the Social and Education Policy Research Program, recently spearheaded a study that explored the impact of underrepresented racial minority (URM) and first-generation college student representation on grades in postsecondary STEM courses. This study is the first of its kind to use a large, multi-institutional dataset, including data from over 87,000 grades across 8,000 STEM courses at 20 institutions.  

One of the most noteworthy among the findings is the positive correlation between URM representation and improved academic performance among college STEM students. In a press release highlighting the study's findings, Bowman says, "It's really notable that improving racial and socioeconomic representation leads to benefits for everyone and reduces inequities at the same time. It's not a zero-sum game." 

Read more about the study here and here.