We examine university choice as a case of consumer decision making and adopt a brand elimination framework. This approach is predicated on the grounds that a large amount of research in consumer behavior has shown that in markets where there are many alternative brands, consumers use phased-decision strategies. In these research studies, the…

Finding accurate predictors of tertiary academic performance, specifically for disadvantaged students, is essential because of budget constraints and the need of the labour market to address employment equity. Increased retention, throughput and decreased dropout rates are vital. When making admission decisions, the under preparedness of students…

This article presents an in-class Monte Carlo demonstration, designed to demonstrate to students the implications of multicollinearity in a multiple regression study. In the demonstration, students already familiar with multiple regression concepts are presented with a scenario in which the "true" relationship between the response and…

Using a sample of White and Native American high school students, the authors provide a test of (a) self-control theory's invariance thesis and (b) native traditionalism as an explanation of Native American substance use. Self-control significantly influenced all forms of substance use when controlling for race and in race-specific analyses.…

This study examined sex differences in risk factors associated with adolescent depression in a large sample of boys and girls. Moderation and mediation explanatory models of the sex difference in likelihood of depression were examined. Findings indicate that the factors associated with depression in adolescent boys and girls are quite similar. All…

This study examines the unique experiences of low-income rural participants in an asset building program--the Individual Development Account. Using data from the American Dream Demonstration, this study addresses three main questions: (1) What are the individual characteristics associated with saving outcomes among rural IDA participants? (2) What…

According to Gough and Tunmer (1986), in a "Simple View of Reading" (SVR), Reading comprehension (RC) = Decoding (D) x Linguistic Comprehension (C). To further evaluate this model, this paper describes an exploratory study of the performance of 60 university students, the majority of whom received academic accommodations at university to…

An initial study of the revised (1985) Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ) of the College Board found it to be of sufficient accuracy to fulfill its intended purposes. This second phase examined the adequacy of the SDQ in terms of the predictive validity of its student academic self-report information against a criterion of first-year college…

A study was undertaken at California's Riverside Community College District to determine predictors of grades and success rates in a first-semester general chemistry course. Fall 1996 course outcomes were analyzed for two groups of students: 137 who had completed the course, successfully or not, and 178 who had dropped it. Data were also collected…

The appropriateness and usefulness of indicators used on the Progress Profiles of the Louisiana State Department of Education were studied using data from 1,336 public regular education schools in Louisiana. Categorization variables considered included socioeconomic and demographic indicators and school size and type. School effectiveness…

Detailed methodology used to evaluate a causal model of school environment is presented in this report. The model depicts societal features that influence school district values and organizational characteristics, which in turn influence school operations and personnel attitudes and values. These school variables affect school community members'…

A visual display is introduced that enables one to compare the predictive validities of all possible non-negatively weighted sums of two predictors. This two-predictor validity curve assesses the level of predictability of a criterion from composites of two predictors. Derivations are presented for the general case. For illustrative purposes, the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the expectancy-performance relationship for each sex and to determine whether cross-sex comparisons are appropriate. Students' expectancies for academic performance and the relationship of the expectancies to actual grades were examined. Subjects were 331 students (168 women and 163 men)…

This report addresses the problem of sample size in developing prediction equations for college freshman grade averages under the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment Program. For the ACT Assessment, the prediction weights are estimated by standard least squares procedures. Because prediction weights are estimated regression coefficients…

The world of education is changing as Web-based technology and courseware are increasingly used for delivery of course material. In this environment, instructors may need new measures for determining student involvement, and ultimately student performance. This study examines whether hits to a Web site have any value for predicting student…