Prediction of College Student Academic Performance and Persistence: The School to College Transition

摘要

This dissertation addresses the prediction of college student academic performance and persistence of Jefferson County Public School graduates at the University of Louisville. Using multiple regression and discriminant analysis, the research design assesses the predictive potential of six Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) scores and five college preparation variables beyond the predictive contribution of control variables established by the literature. The control variables are high school GPA, ACT score, race, sex, and socioeconomic status. The criterion variables are first semester college GPA, first year college GPA, and persistence to the sophomore year. High school GPA and socioeconomic status were statistically significant contributors to each prediction equation. CATS scores accounted for a significant proportion of variance in first year college GPA with control variables already in the equation.