How Well Does the Sat and GPA Predict the Retention of Science,Technology,Engineering,Mathematics,and Business Students

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between various admissions selection criteria utilized by a small, Liberal Arts College in Indiana. More specifically, the study examined if a higher college preparatory GPA and a higher aggregate score on the SAT helped predict the retention of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. Data was gathered using historical enrollment data of 803 students. A logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the impact of the two variables on retention of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. College preparatory GPA and the aggregate SAT score were predictors of retention of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business students. For every point increase in GPA, the odds were more than twice as much that the student would be retained. For every point increase in SAT, there was 0.3% increase in retention.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Burk

(2006, December 14). Colleges boosting efforts to increase science, math grads. Knight Rider Tribune Business News, p. A1.

Burton

& Ramist

(2001). Predicting success in college: SAT studies of classes graduating since 1980 (The College Board Research Report No. 2001-02). Princeton, NJ: The College Board.

Castenell

& Castenell

(1988). Testing the test: Norm-referenced testing and low-income blacks. Journal of Counseling and Development, 67, 205.

Hennessy

(1987). Technology, capital and people: The ABC's of United States competitiveness. The CPA Journal, 57, 8.

Hoffman

& Lowitzki

(2005). Predicting college success with high school grades and test scores: Limitations for minority students. Review of Higher Education, 28(4), 455–475.

Kroc

Woodard

Howard

& Hull

(1995, Spring). Predicting graduation rates: A study of land grant, research I and AAU universities. Paper presented at the Association for the Institutional Research, Boston.

Lau

(2003). Institutional factors affecting student retention. Education, 142, 126–134.

Malveaux

(1997). Speaking of education: Affirmative discrimination. Black Issues in Higher Education, 14, 46.

McAleavy

(2002, May 31). Consultant says big companies lose millions when good workers defect. Knight Rider Tribune Business News, p. A1.

10.

Mealey

(1990). Understanding the motivation problems of at-risk college students Journal of Reading, 33, 598–602.

11.

Mills

(2003). Reducing overrepresentation of African American males in special education: The role of school social workers. Race, Gender & Class, 10, 71–72.

12.

Minium

Clarke

& Coladarci

(1999). Elements of statistical reasoning (2nd ed.) Crawfordsville, IN: John Wiley.

13.

Noble

& Sawyer

(2004). Is high school gpa better than admissions tests for predicting academic success at college? College and University, 79(4), 17–22.

14.

Pallant

(2005). SPSS: A survival manual. New York: McGraw-Hill.

15.

Reason

(2003). Using an act-based merit-index to predict between-year retention. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(1), 71–87.

16.

Redford

(2005, October). Engineering puts out an sos call. Training Magazine, 10–13.

17.

Sedlacek

& Adams

(1992). Predicting the academic success of student-athletes using SAT and non-cognitive variables. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(6), 724–727.

18.

Steele

(1997). News and views: After many years of repair, the test content of the SAT now appears fair; the way the results are used is the problem. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 1, 28.

19.

Zirkel

(2000). Tests on trial. Phi Delta Kappa, 81, 793–794.