迎头赶上:来自不同地域学生的大学学业表现的实证案例研究

Catching Up-Academic Performance of Students from Different Regions

基于部委直属X大学2004-2014级新生的学业记录,2014级新生的一年级调研数据,本研究考察来自不同地域的学生在精英大学的学业表现差异和差异的消减,回答地域性的基础教育差异是否延续至高等教育阶段的问题。使用双重差分分析和多元回归分析方法,实证研究得出以下主要结果。来自不同地域的学生在入学初期学业表现有显著差异。然而大学期间,在各个学科的学习中,X大学属地学生追赶东部地区学生、西部地区学生追赶中部地区学生,这些学生最终在社会科学、工程技术等学科赶了上来;并且学业追赶主要发生在大二和大三期间,在大三结束时已经基本完成了。不过,来自中部和东部地区学业表现的差异却没有在大学期间消减。对于来自不同地域的学生,入学前因素和入学后因素对于大学学业表现差异的重要性不同。精英大学应注重学生数学及学习技巧方面的辅导,并关注学生对作业的态度,促进学生课外学习讨论,以帮助学生学业成功、促进消除基础教育差异在高等教育阶段的延续。

Aiming to answer the question ＂whether differences in secondary education continue to affect students even when they enter universities＂, this research examines academic performance gaps and closing of the gaps among students from different regions. Based on academic records of the 2004- 2014 freshman cohorts and the first year survey of 2014 freshman cohort at an elite institution, applying difference-in-difference analysis and multiple regression analysis, empirical findings suggest following result. Firstly, in the early stage of university study, significant performance gaps were found among students from different regions. However, in all academic fields, local students were catching up with those from the east region and students from the west region were catching up with those from the cen- tral region, especially in the field of social sciences and engineering disciplines. This mainly commenced in the year one and two and completed by the end of the third year. Yet the gap remained between those from the east and the central regions. The importance of pre-college and after-college factors in their impact on academic performance gaps varies for students from different regions. The implications of these results are that universities should help students in Math and in study skills, and pay attention to whether students are late or careless in homework, and facilitate student discussion outside of the class- room, so to promote academic success and to break the lasting impact of differential secondary educa- tion.