英文【ACT】发展与教育及6年制学位完成之间的关联：STEM和非STEM专业的比较

ACT Research | Technical Brief | May 2025 1 The Association Between Developmental Education and 6-Year Degree Completion: A Comparison of STEM and Non-STEM Majors Edgar I. SanchezIntroduction Degree completion is an ever-growing concern for students, policymakers, educators, and researchers. For students, completing a degree within 6 years is often seen as a marker of success, but in reality, many students struggle to meet this 6-year time frame (Shapiro et al., 2017). Developmental education courses have been designed to support underprepared students. These courses attempt to bridge the gap in academic knowledge among students who enter postsecondary education underprepared for college-level coursework. The effectiveness of these programs, however, particularly in terms of promoting degree attainment, remains an issue of debate. Some studies suggest that developmental courses improve student outcomes such as persistence (Bettinger & Long, 2009), while other studies suggest that these courses may delay or even hinder progress toward degree completion (Bailey et al., 2010). The difficulties associated with developmental education may be particularly pronounced among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. STEM majors are known for requiring rigorous coursework and having high levels of attrition (Chen, 2013). As opposed to non-STEM majors, where students have greater flexibility in selecting their course sequencing, STEM majors often have rigid, prerequisite-heavy course sequences that could require developmental work. Taking developmental courses can delay the beginning of a student’s major coursework and lead to students dropping out or delaying the completion of their degrees. A better understanding of whether developmental education affects 6-year degree completion differently for STEM versus non-STEM majors is important for informing academic policy. As mentioned, there are mixed findings about developmental courses in the literature, and while previous research has explored overall degree completion among students with developmental education (Valentine et al., 2017), fewer studies have specifically looked at whether these courses disproportionately affect students from certain majors. Therefore, in the present study I seek to clarify the impact of developmental courses on students’ completion of a baccalaureate degree within 6 years, with a specific focus on the differences between STEM and non-STEM majors. In addition, I look at demographic factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, and family income to explore how these characteristics may moderate this relationship. This study has implications for higher education policy as well as institutional decision-making. If it is found that developmental courses have different effects on STEM and non-STEM majors, postsecondary institutions may need to reconsider the structure and placement of these courses in these degree programs. Additionally, the identification of de