The selection of students who are most likely to succeed in a college developmental studies program is a task with serious ramifications for individuals and institutions. The present study examined the moderating influence of gender and race on the accuracy of high school grades and College Board Scholastic Aptitude (SAT) scores in predicting the academic performance of developmental students. The results indicated significant slope differences in the regression lines for race with the equation for blacks accounting for 10 percent more variance than the equation for whites. Within the racial groups, significant intercept differences based on gender were found for whites only. The relationship between high school grade point average and SAT scores in predicting freshman grade point average for developmental students was similar to the relationship reported for regularly admitted students.
The investigation examined (a) perceptions held by students of their preparation to do college-level work, (b) attitudes towards the Developmental Studies program and the university, and (c) knowledge of Developmental Studies as predictors of academic performance. In addition, the high school grade point average (GPA) and the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were employed as predictors in order to provide a standard by which to compare the predictive efficiency of the student-perception variables. The academic variables, in comparison with those associated with student perceptions, accounted for more variance in first-quarter GPA. Of the student-perception variables, those related to a student's estimation of preparation for college-level courses appeared to have the most direct relationships to first-quarter GPA.
The task of selecting students who are most likely to succeed in a college Developmental Studies program results in important consequences for individuals and institutions. The present study compared the accuracy of high school grade point average and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores in predicting freshman grade point average (freshman GPA) for two groups of students, Developmental Studies freshmen and regularly admitted freshmen. Analysis indicated the differences in slopes of the regression equations accounted for a small amount of criterion variance, but there was substantially greater error variance in the predictor-criterion relationship for developmental students. The predictor variables for regular students accounted for 34% of the variance in freshman GPA which was about two-and-a-half times more variance than was accounted for by the predictors for developmental students.
Differences between two groups of students were examined on the basis of participation ( n = 73) and non-participation ( n = 67) in a special studies program designed primarily to meet the needs of disadvantaged students at a selective midwestern private liberal arts college. Blacks participating in the regular school program had significantly higher dropout frequencies than did blacks in the special studies program. No significant difference in dropout frequency was found between participating and nonparticipating white students.
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