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This quantitative research study analyzes the Practice Exam Program (PEP), a supplemental academic resource provided to KU School of Engineering students to improve retention to the university and persistence to engineering degrees. Utilizing institutional data, the study examines 1,590 first semester first-year engineering students who entered KU from Fall 2017 to Fall 2019 and were enrolled in Precalculus, Calculus I, and Calculus II or III. It investigates attendance patterns for the PEP for these math courses, and whether attendance varied by student characteristics of gender, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, Pell grant eligibility, and high school GPA. The study concludes that PEP participation was correlated with level of math; the proportion (by percent) of students participating was lowest among Precalculus enrollees, and highest in the Calculus II/III group. When controlling for all variables, no student characteristic made students less likely to attend the PEP (though females were statistically more likely to participate in Calculus I).
The study also examines whether PEP participants are more likely to earn improved grades, and to continue enrolling in math after their first semester. PEP participation was shown to be significantly associated with higher grades and an increased likelihood of taking the next math course required to persist in an engineering degree, when controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, first-generation status, Pell grant eligibility, and high school GPA. Longitudinally, first semester PEP participation was not associated with a higher likelihood of graduating from KU within four years or completing an engineering degree. These findings suggest that the PEP has been a valuable and worthwhile academic support for students in the KU School of Engineering and provides persuasive evidence for replicating the program at other engineering schools.
