College ‘Weed-out’ Classes are Bad News for Women and People of Color

The lack of “scaffolding” or support systems when learning complex material such as calculus might be scaring away even the most brilliant college students working toward a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degree. Research led by Nate Brown, professor of mathematics at Penn State University, found that difficult introductory classes, often known as “weed-out” courses, present a stumbling block for minority and female students.