Trajectories and Influencing Factors of Student Confidence Across a Semester

This Research Full Paper presents the results of a longitudinal study about confidence and academic performance conducted at a large, R1, university over the course of a semester. We surveyed male (N = 226) and female (N = 67) students six times throughout the course of the semester and once after final grades were released. Each time, we asked students four questions designed to gauge students’ overall confidence. Using a modified latent growth curve analysis, we found distinctively different patterns in confidence trajectories between students in CS-1, CS-2, CS-3, and CS-4; the four consecutive introductory courses. We found that students’ confidence tended to show a significant decrease across all confidence variables for all four courses, though some courses showed a stronger decrease than others. We found a similar decline pattern for gender such that males initially reported higher confidence than females, but also showed a steeper decrease in confidence after receiving final grades. This declining trend was also predicted by grades, such that individuals who earned higher grades at the end of the semester initially began the semester with higher confidence, but these individuals also showed a steeper decrease in confidence after receiving their final grades. This work has implications for researchers interested in developing interventions designed to help students gain confidence when they need it most and for those interested in the relationship between confidence and retention.