The current study examined whether school performance in childhood and adolescence predicts depressive symptoms in adulthood over 12 to 21 years. Questionnaires measuring grade point average (GPA), having remedial education or incurring penalties during the current school term were obtained from parents when the participants were aged 9, 12 and…

This application study investigates whether the multiple-choice to composite linking functions that determine Advanced Placement Program exam grades remain invariant over subgroups defined by region. Three years of test data from an AP exam are used to study invariance across regions. The study focuses on two questions: (a) How invariant are grade…

After reviewing institutional records for more than 3,000 students, the authors consider how new members of Greek organizations at a Midwestern university performed academically when compared to non-Greeks, in terms of their predicted versus actual grade point averages and whether joining during the first or second semester made a difference in…

As community colleges have more applicants, more programs have turned to selective admissions. Additionally, good postmatriculation advising requires more useful assessments than have been possible employing such measures as prior grade-point average (GPA). A variety of problems have been identified in relying on GPA. A series of noncognitive…

In this study, we explore the value of personality characteristics in explaining success in labor market entry with a sample of graduates in economics from Maastricht University (the Netherlands). Specifically, the paper addresses the following twofold research question: does personality explain labor market outcomes, and how much weight does this…

I studied how the grade point averages (GPA, a post-enrollment descriptor) of first-year developmental education students relate to two pre-enrollment descriptors: students' Academic Aptitude Ratings (AAR, a pre-enrollment criterion) and students' voluntary or forced attendance at a mandatory summer-orientation program. Students who involuntarily…

126 Taiwanese college students were assessed by examining how students' educational background, their self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) and their prior success in classes impact their academic achievement differently in face-to-face and a two-way distance learning environment. Results indicated that regardless of the instructional delivery…

This paper estimates the effect of students' background characteristics on the academic outcomes of their college roommates. It uses data from four classes of students at Wellesley College, where roommate assignment is credibly random, conditional on student responses to a housing preference form. In linear specifications, there are no peer…

The authors performed a statistical analysis to investigate whether grade inflation existed in the business school at a small private college in the northeast region of the United States. The results showed that grade inflation existed and exhibited a linear trend over a 20-year period. The authors found that grade inflation was related to faculty…

Mandated state testing, college entrance exams and their perceived need for higher and higher grade point averages have raised the anxiety levels felt by many of the average students. Too much focus is placed on state test scores and college entrance standards with not enough focus on the true level of the students. The author contends that…

Students inaccurately assess their own skills, especially high- or low-performers on exams. This study assessed whether regression effects account for this observation. After completing the Infection and Immunity course final exam (IIF), second year medical students (N = 143) estimated their performance on the IIF in terms of percent correct and…

Although block scheduling has become increasingly popular in the past decade, only a few researchers have investigated its effect on academic achievement. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of block scheduling on academic achievement between 115 high school students who received instruction via a 4x4 block schedule and…

First-generation college students face a number of unique challenges in college. These obstacles may have a disparate effect on educational outcomes such as academic achievement. This study presents findings from an analysis of the Baccalaureate & Beyond Longitudinal Study using hierarchical multiple regression techniques to measure the influence…

This article reports a short-term longitudinal study focusing on popularity and social acceptance as predictors of academic engagement for a sample of 342 adolescents (approximate average age of 14). These youths were followed for 4 consecutive semesters. Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression were assessed with a peer nomination …

In 2001, Illinois began administering the ACT (American College Testing) test to all 11th graders in Illinois public schools as part of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE). For the first time, ACT scores and background information were available for most public-school students who would be completing high school one year later, rather than…