The 2002 First Year Physics Report
This report is based on final marks in UBC first year physics courses offered
during the first term (September-December 2002). The study includes only
students who graduated from Canadian high schools in 2002. Students must also
have Physics 12 or Physics 11 requirements fulfilled. As a result, the sample
used in this study represents about 80% of the total number of students enrolled
in UBC first year physics courses. This sample is representative for studying
the effect of transition from high school to university on students’
performance in physics.
Following the initiative started many years ago by the UBC Mathematics
Department (First Year
Calculus Results), the report will compare students’ participation and
performance in UBC Physics courses by region, school and gender. Since the
largest proportion of students graduated from B.C. schools (92.2%), findings are
significant at the provincial level. The 2002 high school graduates from Alberta
(2.3%) and Ontario (4.8%) enrolled in UBC first year physics courses are also
included in the comparative analysis. This is the third school-by-school report
on performance in first year physics courses. We also include comparisons with
year 2001. The differences in average student performance from different schools
are in most cases rather small. From experience with the Math survey we expect
significant year over year variations in ranking.
It is hoped that the information will be of interest to people involved in
physics education in B.C.
First Year UBC Physics courses (Term I)
A. UBC Physics courses with Mathematics 12 & Physics 12
requirements.
PHYSICS 101: Energy and Waves (combined
lecture/lab course).
PHYSICS 107: Physics I.
PHYSICS
109: Introductory to Experimental Physics (lab course).
PHYSICS
153: Elements of Physics (this is a two-term course; only first term results
are included in the analysis; the first term is a lecture course only)
NOTE: Since PHYS 107 & 109 are derived from PHYS 121, an Honours
course that was offered in the past, data for these two courses will be combined
and compared to previous years’ results on PHYS 121. Most students (70%)
enrolled in both PHYS 107 & 109 and their average grades are included in
analysis. PHYS 107 grades are considered for students who enrolled only in the
lecture course, while students who enrolled only in PHYS 109 (very few) are
excluded from the study.
B. UBC Physics course with Mathematics 12
& Physics 11 requirements.
PHYSICS 100: Introductory
Physics.
Contents
1. Enrollment and
Performance in UBC Physics Courses
2. Enrollment and
Performance in UBC Physics Courses by Gender
3. Comparison of
Achievements by Region and School Type
4. Comparison of
Achievements by School
5. Summary and
Implications
Contact
For more information on the report, or if you have any
comments, please contact:
Dr. Tom Tiedje at (604) 822-8796
Dr.
Maria Trache at (604) 822-5954
Enrollment and performance in UBC First Year Physics courses (Term
I)
(ONLY includes students from the 2002 graduating classes of
Canadian high schools & with Physics12 or Physics11 requirement
provided)
Table IA compares performance for each course based on high school
Physics 12. For each course, the average Physics 12 and UBC course grades are
given.
Table IB hows performance in PHYS 100. Physics 11 and PHYS 100
average grades are given.
Graph IA-B shows the distribution of grades in all UBC vs.
high-school physics courses.
Table IA (Physics 12 requirement)
(2001 results in
brackets)
| UBC Physics
Course |
Number of
students |
% passing |
% with A
standing |
Average school
mark -> Average UBC mark |
| 101 |
698 (753) |
96 (97) |
39 (35) |
89->75 (85->75) |
| 107 & 109a |
45 (57) |
91 (91) |
64 (53) |
93->81 (90->77) |
| 153 |
456 (413) |
95 (97) |
37 (53) |
91->74 (89->78) |
| ALL |
1199 (1223)
| 96 (96) |
39 (42) |
90->75 (87->76) |
| aFor PHYS 107/109 results
are compared to PHYS 121. |
Table IB (Physics 11 Requirement)
(2001 results in
brackets)
| UBC Physics
Course |
Number of
students |
% passing |
% with A
standing |
Average school
mark -> Average UBC mark |
| 100 |
402 (460) |
91 (94) |
27 (33) |
82->72 (82->74) |
Graph I A-B:
Distribution of marks in UBC and high-school physics
courses
Note:
The clustered box plots offer summaries of values for separate variables. Each
box contains 50% of cases and the line across the box indicates the median. The
whiskers are lines that extend from the box to the highest and lowest values,
excluding the outliers (cases with values between 1.5 and 3 box lengths from the
upper or lower edge of the box) and extremes (values more than 3 box lengths
from the box).
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Enrollment and performance in UBC Physics courses by
gender
(ONLY includes students from the 2002 graduating classes of
Canadian high schools & with Physics 12 or Physics 11 grades
provided)
Table IC compares enrollment and performance by gender in each
course.
Graph IC displays the gender representation in each and all
courses.
Table IC
(2001 results in brackets)
| UBC Physics
Course
| Gender |
Number of
students |
% passing |
% with A
standing |
Average school
mark -> Average UBC mark |
| 100 |
male |
118 (144) |
89 (92) |
34 (42) |
80->73 (81->75) |
| female |
284 (316) |
91 (96) |
24 (29) |
83->71 (82->73) |
| 101 |
male |
342 (412) |
97 (96) |
41 (36) |
89->75 (85->74) |
| female |
356 (341) |
96 (98) |
37 (34) |
88->74 (85->76) |
| 107 & 109 |
male |
38 (39) |
92 (92) |
66 (54) |
93->82 (91->77) |
| femalea |
7 (18) |
86 (89) |
57 (50) |
90->75 (89->78) |
| 153 |
male |
369 (344) |
95 (97) |
37 (54) |
92->74 (90->78) |
| female |
87 (69) |
95 (97) |
35 (51) |
91->74 (88->77) |
| a Due to the small size
of this group, results should be interpreted with caution.
|
Graph IC
Note:
There is no significant statistical difference between male and female students’
performance in the Physics courses. However, gender is a factor that introduces
a significant difference in course participation for PHYS 100 (ratio M:F about
1:2), PHYS 107 & 109 and PHYS 153 (ratio M:F about 4:1).
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Comparison of achievements by region and school
type
(includes ONLY students from the 2002 graduating classes of
BC high schools & with Physics12 or Physics11
requirement)
Table II compares results by region and
school type, cumulating data for courses with Physics 12 requirement, i. e. PHYS
101, PHYS 107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153, currently included in Group A. The B.C.
schools identified by region are public schools. Private and Catholic schools
from all over the province form two separate groups. Vancouver schools are
grouped in Vancouver east and Vancouver west. Suburban Vancouver includes
Burnaby, Langley, New Westminster, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Coquitlam, Delta, North
Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Richmond school districts. Vancouver Island, B.
C. Interior schools and students from other provinces are grouped separately.
For comparison, Ontario and Alberta high school students are included in the
ranking. Only regions with at least 25 students in UBC physics courses from
Group A are "ranked".
Ranking Procedure
The ranking is based ONLY on students’
participation in Group "A" UBC courses (courses with Physics 12
requirement: PHYS 101, PHYS 107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153).
The ranking score
is determined by equally weighting ranks in the categories:
a) % passing in
Group "A" courses
b) % with A standing (A-, A, A+) ) in these
courses
c) the relative change of average grades in high school vs. UBC
Physics courses.
High values of % passing, % with A standing, as well as
small variation in grades would contribute to higher ranks. Regions or schools
are first ranked in each category (a-c) and then a total rank is computed.
Tables also show the % of students in Group A courses vs. total number
of students in UBC physics courses. These data are not considered in ranking,
but provide additional information about high school students’ course
choice.
Table II - all courses with Physics 12 requirement (Group
A)
(2001 results in brackets)
| School Type or
Region ranking |
No. of students
in Group A courses |
% Passing |
% with A
Standing |
Avg. school
mark->Avg. UBC mark |
|
% students in
Group A courses |
| 1. Richmond (3) |
136 (135) |
97 (97) |
46 (47) |
89->76 (87->78) |
|
74 (73) |
| 1. Catholic (7) |
26 (37) |
100 (100) |
42 (41) |
90->77 (88->78) |
|
52 (56) |
| 3. Vancouver west (2) |
132 (146) |
95 (98) |
45 (46) |
90->76 (86->78) |
|
76 (68) |
| 3. Surrey (10) |
92 (100) |
97 (96) |
41 (40) |
89->75 (88->76) |
|
68 (74) |
| 3. Private (14) |
41 (39) |
98 (90) |
46 (37) |
92->75 (85->73) |
|
84 (67) |
| 6. North Vancouver (6) |
50 (52) |
98 (96) |
40 (44) |
91->76 (86->78) |
|
71 (67) |
| 6. Coquitlam (10) |
90 (89) |
98 (96) |
41 (40) |
91->76 (88->75) |
|
84 (84) |
| 8. Vancouver east (1) |
154 (93) |
95 (97) |
36 (48) |
88->74 (86->77) |
|
75 (62) |
| 8. Delta (12) |
40 (39) |
98 (97) |
33 (36) |
90->74 (87->74) |
|
66 (68) |
| 10. Burnaby (5) |
88 (116) |
92 (99) |
39 (43) |
89->73 (84->75) |
|
78 (80) |
| 11. West Vancouver (8) |
35 (33) |
97 (97) |
23 (42) |
90->74 (85->75) |
|
85 (72) |
| 11. B.C. Interior (13) |
104 (104) |
94 (98) |
38 (30) |
92->75 (86->74) |
|
67 (65) |
| 13. Vancouver Island (15) |
55 (47) |
96 (94) |
18 (17) |
89->70 (87->71) |
|
85 (75) |
| 14. Langley |
26 |
92 |
31 |
93->70 |
|
76 |
| Alberta |
33 (30) |
97 (93) |
52 (60) |
NA->77 (88->81) |
|
94 (94) |
| Ontario |
63 (48) |
98 (98) |
40 (38) |
NA->75 (85->76) |
|
83 (91) |
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Comparison of achievements by school
The
school-by-school Tables (III, IV, V) include ranking of schools with at
least 10 students in UBC physics courses with Physics 12 requirement (PHYS 101,
PHYS 107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153) in September 2002. Results are organized in three
tables: Vancouver schools, Suburban Vancouver schools and B. C. schools outside
Metropolitan Vancouver. Schools outside Metropolitan Vancouver (Table V)
are not ranked, since the number of students was too small (results given in
alphabetical order).
Ranking procedure
The ranking is based ONLY on students’
participation in Group "A" UBC courses (courses with Physics 12
requirement: PHYS 101, PHYS 107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153).
The ranking score
is determined by equally weighting ranks in the categories:
a) % passing in
Group "A" courses
b) % with A standing (A-, A, A+) ) in these
courses
c) the relative change of average grades in high school vs. UBC
Physics courses.
High values of % passing, % with A standing, as well as
small variation in grades would contribute to higher ranks. Regions or schools
are first ranked in each category (a-c) and then a total rank is computed.
Tables also show the % of students in Group A courses vs. total number
of students in UBC physics courses. These data are not considered in ranking,
but provide an additional information about high school students’ course
choice.
Vancouver Schools
Table III - all courses with Physics 12 requirement:
PHYS 101,
PHYS 107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153
(2001 results in brackets)
| School Type or
Region ranking |
No. of students
in Group A courses |
% Passing |
% with A
Standing |
Avg. school
mark->Avg. UBC mark |
|
% students in
Group A courses |
| 1. University Hill (1) |
12 (15) |
100 (100) |
75 (67) |
92->84 (88->81) |
|
86 (94) |
| 2. Templeton Sec. |
10 |
100 |
70 |
94->83 |
|
91 |
| 3. Kitsilano Sec. |
15 |
100 |
53 |
90->76 |
|
71 |
| 3. Eric Hamber (5) |
25 (22) |
96 (95) |
48 (50) |
87->78 (84->77) |
|
64 (71) |
| 5. Windermere Sec. |
12 |
83 |
67 |
91->78 |
|
86 |
| 6. Killarney (1) |
29 (19) |
97 (100) |
34 (53) |
87->74 (83->79) |
|
91 (66) |
| 6. Prince of Wales (10) |
23 (18) |
96 (94) |
43 (39) |
91->77 (87->77) |
|
70 (47) |
| 8. Sir Winston Curchill (9) |
39 (21) |
92 (95) |
41 (33) |
87->76 (84->76) |
|
68 (57) |
| 9. Magee Sec. (6) |
15 (15) |
100 (100) |
27 (40) |
90->75 (84->76) |
|
83 (71) |
| 10. David Thompson (1) |
15 (24) |
93 (100) |
33 (58) |
87->70 (86->81) |
|
54 (73) |
| 10. Gladstone Sec. |
16 |
100 |
13 |
91->70 |
|
80 |
| 12. Point Grey (8) |
22 (14) |
95 (100) |
27 (36) |
92->73 (85->77) |
|
92 (54) |
| 13. Lord Byng (6) |
15 (25) |
80 (100) |
47 (48) |
91->68 (88->79) |
|
79 (74) |
Suburban Vancouver Schools
Table IV - all courses with Physics 12 requirement:
PHYS 101, PHYS
107, PHYS 109, PHYS 153
(2001 results in brackets)
| School Type or
Region ranking |
No. of students
in Group A courses |
% Passing |
% with A
Standing |
Avg. school
mark->Avg. UBC mark |
|
% students in
Group A courses |
| 1. Hugh McRoberts Sec. |
10 |
100 |
70 |
92->82 |
|
67 |
| 1. J.N. Burnett Sec. (4) |
15 (28) |
100 (100) |
67 (57) |
91->81 (88->81) |
|
83 (80) |
| 3. Pinetree Sec. (7) |
16 (20) |
100 (100) |
63 (45) |
91->81 (89->81) |
|
84 (91) |
| 4. New Westminster Sec. |
11 |
100 |
64 |
96->81 |
|
61 |
| 5. Port Moody Sec. |
23 |
100 |
52 |
89->79 |
|
77 |
| 6. Hugh Boyd Sec. |
13 |
92 |
62 |
92->81 |
|
68 |
| 6. Semiahmoo Sr. Sec. (2) |
17 (12) |
94 (100) |
53 (75) |
89->79 (90->81) |
|
81 (100) |
| 8. Handsworth Sec. (11) |
10 (11) |
100 (91) |
60 (45) |
94->78 (82->77) |
|
63 (55) |
| 8. Argyle Sec. |
16 |
100 |
50 |
91->79 |
|
84 |
| 10. Steveston Sec. (14) |
22 (20) |
100 (100) |
50 (40) |
91->76 (90->78) |
|
61 (77) |
| 11. Richmond Sec. (14) |
25 (16) |
96 (88) |
48 (44) |
88->75 (83->75) |
|
86 (76) |
| 11. Charles London (1) |
15 (21) |
100 (100) |
40 (67) |
89->75 (90->80) |
|
94 (68) |
| 11. Tamanawis Sec. (20) |
10 (16) |
100 (94) |
40 (31) |
92->78 (88->72) |
|
71 (80) |
| 14. McMath Sec. |
14 |
100 |
36 |
91->76 |
|
82 |
| 14. R.C. Palmer Sec. |
10 |
100 |
20 |
81->73 |
|
83 |
| 16. Sentinel Sec. (7) |
18 (24) |
100 (100) |
28 (46) |
92->75 (85->77) |
|
86 (80) |
| 16. Carson Graham (13) |
12 (15) |
100 (100) |
33 (40) |
93->75 (88->79) |
|
71 (79) |
| 18. Burnaby North (17) |
22 (38) |
95 (100) |
33 (34) |
91->72 (86->75) |
|
79 (88) |
| 19. Moscrop (14) |
10 (18) |
90 (94) |
20 (44) |
88->77 (84->72) |
|
91 (90) |
| 19. Centennial (11) |
18 (24) |
100 (100) |
33 (50) |
95->74 (91->78) |
|
86 (86) |
| 21. Burnaby South (4) |
29 (32) |
90 (100) |
38 (50) |
90->71 (83->76) |
|
76 (80) |
| 22. Seaquam (9) |
16 (17) |
94 (100) |
25 (47) |
89->72 (88->78) |
|
67 (77) |
| 23. West Vancouver Sec. |
17 |
94 |
18 |
88->72 |
|
85 |
| 24. Gleneagle Sec. (24) |
17 (19) |
88 (84) |
29 (37) |
89->69 (86->71) |
|
94 (83) |
B.C. Schools outside Metropolitan Vancouver
Table V - all courses
with Physics 12 requirement (alphabetical order)
| School Type or
Region ranking |
No. of students
in Group A courses |
% Passing |
% with A
Standing |
Avg. school
mark->Avg. UBC mark |
|
% students in
Group A courses |
| Alberni District Sec. |
7 |
100 |
57 |
96->78 |
|
88 |
| Brooks Secondary |
5 |
80 |
20 |
92->76 |
|
100 |
| Dover Bay |
5 |
80 |
20 |
88->65 |
|
63 |
| Highland Sec. |
5 |
100 |
40 |
91->80 |
|
100 |
| Kelowna Sec. |
8 |
100 |
50 |
91->81 |
|
100 |
| Nanaimo District Sec. |
6 |
83 |
0 |
89->62 |
|
100 |
| Penticton Sec. |
8 |
100 |
75 |
95->82 |
|
80 |
| Rick Hansen Sec. |
5 |
100 |
40 |
88->75 |
|
56 |
| Sardis Sec. |
8 |
88 |
25 |
94->73 |
|
89 |
| St. Michaels University |
6 |
83 |
33 |
90->70 |
|
100 |
| Timberline Sec. |
6 |
100 |
0 |
91->69 |
|
86 |
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Summary and Implications
Significance of the
Study
This report gives an overview of students’ enrollment and performance in UBC
First Year Physics courses. The sample used in this report is represented by
high school graduates from the Class of 2002 accepted in UBC first term physics
courses on the basis of high school pre-requisites (Physics 12 or Physics 11
depending on the UBC physics course). This is the most common route for students
to get into first year physics courses. In 2002, this route included about 80%
of the total student population in the first year & first term physics
courses, as compared to 87% in year 2001 and 67% in year 2000. Therefore, the
conclusions of this study would reveal issues on physics instruction related to
the transition from school to university.
Enrollment
Issues
a) First year physics courses can be grouped into three
profiles, each with specific student enrollments (Tables IA-B):
PHYS 100 is a preparatory course enrolling about 25% of students in
the study.
PHYS 101&107/109 are physics courses that are primarily taken by
science students, and enroll about 46% of students in the study, with 44% in
PHYS 101 and only 3% in PHYS 107/109. In 2002, PHYS 107/109 replaced PHYS 121,
an Honours course.
PHYS 153 is a physics course for engineers that enrolls about 28% of
students in the study.
The course enrollment distribution did not change
significantly over the years:
Year 2001: PHYS 100 - 27% ; PHYS 101 - 45%
; PHYS 121 - 3% ; PHYS 153 - 25%.
Year 2000: PHYS 100 - 27% ; PHYS 101 -
42% ; PHYS 121 - 5% ; PHYS 153 - 26%.
b) Gender distribution pattern
for each course (Table IC):
PHYS 100, a preparatory course that requires only Physics 11, has a 79%
female student enrollment, which suggests that girls disproportionately elect
not to take Physics 12.
PHYS 101 is balanced with respect to gender distribution (51% female student
enrollment).
PHYS 107 has only 16% female students, which suggests that high schools and
the university are not successful in attracting women into more challenging
physics courses.
PHYS 153, a course for engineers, continues to attract low proportions of
female students (i.e., 19% in year 2002, as compared to 17% in year 2001 and 19%
in year 2000).
The female student enrollment did not change significantly
compared to previous two years:
Year 2001: PHYS 100 - 69% ; PHYS 101 -
45%; PHYS 121 - 32% ; PHYS 153 - 17%
Year 2000: PHYS 100 - 76% ; PHYS 101
- 50%; PHYS 121 - 26% ; PHYS 153 - 19%.
Performance
Issues
All UBC physics courses have a large percentage of
passing students: 96% for general and applied physics courses and 91% for PHYS
100.
The average percentage of students with A standing is about 39% for
the group A courses.
PHYS 107/109 presents the highest % with A standing:
64%. While in PHYS 107/109 the percentage with A standing has increased as
compared to PHYS 121 last year (53%), PHYS 153 has significantly decreased the
percentage of A standing from 53% to 37%. A decrease from 38% (2000) to 33%
(2001) and to 27% (2002) in the percentage with A standing is observed for PHYS
100. Meanwhile, PHYS 101 is extremely stable: 39% (2002), 35% (2001), 37%
(2000).
Students’ grades in UBC physics courses are consistently lower
than their corresponding grades in Physics 12 or Physics 11. The relative change
is about 15% for all courses, but there are significant course differences in
the drop of grades (i.e., as low as 12% for PHYS 100 and as high as 19% for PHYS
153).
The distribution of grades (Graph I A-B) suggests that PHYS 107/109
shows the least variability with respect to both high school and university
achievements, followed by PHYS 153 and PHYS 101.
The only difference in
performance by gender is that the proportion of female students with A standing
is slightly lower for all courses. PHYS 153 followed by PHYS 101 present the
least gender differences in performance. In the case of PHYS 107/109 and PHYS
100, the drop in grades for female students is larger than for male
students.
The school-by-school performance in UBC physics courses was
measured by:
percentage of passing students -> no significant difference by
region or school
percentage of students with A standing -> differences by region
and school
relative change in physics grades from high school to university
-> as low as 15-16% (i. e. Richmond, Vancouver west, Vancouver east,
Surrey) and as high as 19-25% (apparently for regions located farther from UBC,
with the exception of Alberta). Alberta students obtained the lowest relative
change in physics grades and the largest average mark in UBC physics courses
(one exception: New Westminster students have excellent results on all measures,
but the school district could not be included in the ranking due to the small
number of students, only 11).
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