This study used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine student- and school-level predictors of the discrepancy between students standardized high school grade point average (HSGPA) and standardized total Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores. At the student level, academic curriculum intensity, socioeconomic status (SES), the difference…

This report evaluates the performance of the California Academic Volunteer and Mentor Service Program, addressing an assessment of the impact of mentoring on middle school and high school student achievement, attendance, and behavior. The program's goal is to use volunteer mentors to provide support to children at risk of academic failure and…

Two studies evaluated outcomes of a University Experience (freshman seminar) course to ease the transition to college and enhance student retention at the University of South Florida. In the first study, course evaluations of "typical" USF students (N=540) who completed the course in fall 1998 were overwhelmingly positive in support of…

This paper explores the outcomes associated with participation in the Transportation Career Academy Program (TCAP), a school-to-career (STC) program in Los Angeles, California. To determine the extent to which participation in TCAP enhances students' engagement with school while avoiding potential negative effects, this study examines four…

This study sought to investigate the educational outcomes of the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) for students who earned credit through CLEP compared to those students who earned comparable credit through the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and through traditional course enrollment. In order to evaluate the short- and long-term…

Merit aid, a discount to college costs contingent upon academic performance, is nothing new. Colleges and private organizations have long rewarded high-achieving, college-bound high school students with scholarships. While merit aid has a long history in the private sector, it has not played a major role in the public sector. At the state level,…

This study employed logistic regression to predict the probability that a student would be successful in achieving a FGPA at various levels, based on that student's SAT scores and high school grade point average. Tables of accuracy rates are appended.

The results of a predictive validity study of the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) using criteria from the clinical years of undergraduate medical education are discussed. The criteria included course grades and faculty ratings of clerks in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and psychiatry. (Author/MLW)

Describes a study of students at Northern Illinois University (NIU) conducted to determine the characteristics, attendance patterns, grade point averages, and degree attainment of students who initiated their postsecondary education at a four-year college, transferred to a community college, and then transferred to NIU. (AYC)

The 1963 freshman class accumulated a graduation rate of 15 percent over four years, 31 percent over five years, and 42 percent over 11 years. First semester grade point average is a useful predictor of academic success. It separates graduates from nongraduates, and roughly predicts time to graduate and semesters attended for nongraduates. (MSE)

The relationships among measures of vocational interest, life history data, educational performance, and number of courses taken (by area) were explored in a college freshman sample of 1,892 students. Canonical correlation analysis was used to uncover and describe the major relationships among the variable sets. (Author/JKS)

A comparative evaluation was made of the ability of four Academic Tests of the American College Test (ACT) Assessment Program and Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS) to predict course grades and freshman grade-point average for students enrolled in a basic skills program at a large university. (Author/GK)

Describes how traditional college honors systems, based upon competition among scholastically able full-time students, preclude large numbers of community college students from having their academic achievements recognized. Proposes that each student, in cooperation with his/her faculty advisor, determine a personal grade point average goal. (JP)

Examines the value of various types of college admission criteria and states that the most accurate predictors of future academic performance used to interpret grades earned at other institutions are the grade point average in previous courses and entrance achievement tests. Interviews and recommendation letters are of little value. (MF)

The relationships between predictors of performance and subsequent measures of clinical performance in medical school were examined for two classes at Southern Illinois University of Medicine. Canonical redundancy analysis was used to evaluate the association between six academic and three biographical preselection characteristics and four…