This study is a comparison of ground-based versus online student performance using a combination of common final examination scores and associated demographic data in a biological science college course taught by a single instructor. Multivariate and standard statistical analyses are used to examine data from five semesters of ground and online instruction. Overall, students in ground course sections scored higher than those in online sections. Demographic comparisons of the pooled student populations from all five semesters show that there was a larger proportion of female than male students in both ground and online sections. Moreover, most students in ground sections were of traditional college age (18 to 24 years old), whereas online, the majority consisted of roughly equal numbers of college-age and post-college-age students (older than 24 years old). High school-age students (younger than 18 years old) constituted the minority in both the ground and online sections, with their proportion being smaller in the latter. Regardless of gender and age group, ground students scored higher than online students. Additionally, the course pass rate was greater overall for ground students than for online students; this contrasted with the course withdrawal rate, which was greater for online students.