Estimating Effect Size for Participation in a Postsecondary Honors Program Using Propensity Score Matching

• In Event: 29.044 - Practices That Support Learning in Higher Education Across the Years and Across the Globe

Abstract

Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect predicts that students who do not participate in selective programs will outperform students who do on academic outcomes. The present study sought to determine the extent to which participation in a post-secondary honors program affected academic achievement. Archival data were collected on three cohorts of high-achieving students at a large, public university. Propensity score methods were used to match students in the honors group to the non-honors group. ANOVA was used to assess differences on cumulative GPA. Findings indicated that students who participated in honors did not experience a decline in academic performance. Further, they earned a significantly higher mean cumulative GPA. Participation in honors was also shown to have a moderate to large effect on academic achievement.

Author

• Scott Robert Furtwengler, Brazosport College