Krista D. Mattern

A Look Beyond Cognitive Predictors of Academic Success: Understanding the Relationship Between Academic Self-Beliefs and Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic self-beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy and degree aspirations) with various academic outcomes. Based on previous findings, it was hypothesized that students with more positive academic self-beliefs would perform better in school. The results supported prior research as students with higher academic self-beliefs also had higher SAT scores, grades, and second-year retention rates. Students with more negative writing and math self-efficacy beliefs were more likely to state that they would desire help with improving those skills. Suggestions for those in college counseling positions to intervene and provide assistance are discussed.

Exploring the Utility of Advanced Placement Participation and Performance in College Admission Decisions

The current study evaluated the relationship between various operationalizations of the Advanced Placement® (AP) exam and course information with first-year grade point average (FYGPA) in college to better understand the role of AP in college admission decisions. In particular, the incremental validity of the different AP variables, above relevant demographic and academic variables, in predicting FYGPA was explored using hierarchical linear modeling. The AP variables of interest included the following: the number of AP exams the student took, the number of AP exams the student took and received a score of 3 or higher, the proportion of the number AP exams the student took out of the number AP courses offered at his or her high school, and his or her average AP score, highest AP score, and lowest AP score. Results showed that the AP predictor that most improved model fit was the average AP exam score. The final model that included multiple AP variables and most improved model fit included the average AP score, the number of AP exams the student took and received a score of 3 or higher, and the AP exam proportion (which had a negative relationship with FYGPA). These results are particularly relevant and timely for college admission and measurement professionals as AP course-taking information as opposed to AP exam score information tends to be more regularly factored into admission decisions if and when AP information is considered at all.

Test of Slope and Intercept Bias in College Admissions: A Response to Aguinis, Culpepper, and Pierce (2010).

Research on the predictive bias of cognitive tests has generally shown (a) no slope effects and (b) small intercept effects, typically favoring the minority group. Aguinis, Culpepper, and Pierce (2010) simulated data and demonstrated that statistical artifacts may have led to a lack of power to detect slope differences and an overestimate of the size of the intercept effect. In response to Aguinis et al.s (2010) call for a revival of predictive bias research, we used data on over 475,000 students entering college between 2006 and 2008 to estimate slope and intercept differences in the college admissions context. Corrections for statistical artifacts were applied. Furthermore, plotting of regression lines supplemented traditional analyses of predictive bias to offer additional evidence of the form and extent to which predictive bias exists. Congruent with previous research on bias of cognitive tests, using SAT scores in conjunction with high school grade-point average to predict first-year grade-point average revealed minimal differential prediction (ΔR²intercept ranged from .004 to .032 and ΔR²slope ranged from .001 to .013 depending on the corrections applied and comparison groups examined). We found, on the basis of regression plots, that college grades were consistently overpredicted for Black and Hispanic students and underpredicted for female students.

When Both the Skilled and Unskilled are Unaware: Consequences for Academic Performance

The authors replicate Kruger and Dunning (1999) by demonstrating that the most unskilled students overestimate their skill level, whereas highly skilled students underestimate their skill level. Furthermore, this misestimation of skill is related to academic performance. Misestimation was positively related to first year college GPA, persistence to the fourth year of college, and graduation. At times, this effect can lead lower-ability students to perform just as well as, or better than, higher-ability students. Thus, misestimation of skill level appears to serve as a benefit for less-skilled individuals, but as a hindrance for highly-skilled individuals as they pursue academic goals.

An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity Discrepant SAT and HSGPA Performance

This study examined discrepant high school grade point average (HSGPA) and SAT performance as measured by the difference between a student’s standardized SAT composite score and standardized HSGPA. The SAT–HSGPA discrepancy measure was used to examine whether certain students are more likely to exhibit discrepant performance and in what direction. Additionally, the relationship between the SAT–HSGPA discrepancy measure and other academic indicators was examined. Finally, the relationship between the SAT–HSGPA discrepancy measure and the error term of three admission models (HSGPA only, SAT score only, and HSGPA and SAT scores) was examined. Results indicated that females, minority, low socioeconomic status, and nonnative English speakers were more likely to have higher HSGPAs relative to their SAT scores. Furthermore, using only HSGPA for admission overpredicted college performance for those students who had higher HSGPA as compared with SAT scores and underpredicted college performance for students with higher SAT scores as compared with HSGPA. The results underscore the utility of using both HSGPA and test scores for admission decisions.

Academic Fit: Is the Right School the Best School or is the Best School the Right School?

The purpose of the current study was to examine the academic consequences of attending an institution that is not considered an academic fit for a student. The results from the current study show that more able students perform better in college in terms of first-year GPA and retention to their second year regardless of the institution they attend. Additionally, after controlling for ability, students attending more selective institutions perform better in college. However, the results do not support an academic fit effect above and beyond individual and school effects. The results have implications for higher education admission policies. Specifically, institutions that want to maximize the percentage of admitted students that are successful and return for their second year should not minimize the academic qualifications of the applicants. They should not be worried about selecting “overqualified” applicants, who they believe may be bored or not challenged enough at their institution, as these students earn higher college first-year GPAs and are more likely to return for their second year. On the other hand, students who are not academically qualified are more likely to earn lower grades and leave the institution.

Identification of Multiple Nonreturner Profiles to Inform the Development of Targeted College Retention Interventions

Throughout the college retention literature, there is a recurring theme that students leave college for a variety of reasons making retention a difficult phenomenon to model. In the current study, cluster analysis techniques were employed to investigate whether multiple empirically based profiles of nonreturning students existed to more fully understand the types of students with particular characteristics that are related to leaving college. Based on over 18,000 students who left their initial institution after the first year, analyses supported three clusters, which were labeled as Affordability Issues, Unexpected Underperformers, and Underprepared and Facing Hurdles. Follow-up analyses were then conducted to determine whether students from each cluster had different higher education trajectories. Students in the Underprepared and Facing Hurdles cluster were most likely to drop out of higher education completely or transfer to a 2-year institution. Those students in the Affordability Issues cluster were most likely to transfer to a less expensive 4-year institution. Finally, the Unexpected Underperformers behaved somewhere in between the other two clusters with regard to dropout and transfer behavior. The implications of these findings in terms of developing more thoughtful and targeted retention interventions for these different types of students are discussed.

Discrepant SAT Critical Reading and Writing Scores: Implications for College Performance

Despite the similarities that researchers note between the cognitive processes and knowledge involved in reading and writing, there are students who are much stronger readers than writers and those who are much stronger writers than readers. The addition of the writing section to the SAT provides an opportunity to examine whether certain groups of students are more likely to exhibit stronger performance in reading versus writing and the academic consequences of this discrepant performance. Results of this study, based on hierarchical linear models of student performance, showed that even after controlling for relevant student characteristics and prior academic performance, an SAT critical reading–writing discrepancy had a small effect on 1st-year grade point average as well as English course grades in college. Specifically, students who had relatively higher writing scores as compared to their critical reading scores earned higher grades in their 1st year of college as well as in their 1st-year English course(s).

Equity, Egoism, and Egocentrism: The Formation of Distributive Justice Judgments

Previous research on distributive justice judgments has come to the conclusion that these judgments are often formed based on an equity norm, or a self-serving, egoistic motive (e.g., Adams, 1965; Greenberg, 1983). In this article, we propose egocentrism as a third mechanism for the formation of these judgments. In two experiments, above and beyond the influence of equity, perceptions of distributive justice were influenced by egocentrism. Furthermore, egocentrism at times overpowered the effects of egoism. When egocentric perception of contribution was high, results were consistent with the notion that distributive justice judgments are egoistic. However, the effect of egoism was reversed when egocentric perception of contribution was low. Additional analyses suggest that these results were due to egocentric attentional processes.

Examining Student Under- and Overperformance in College to Identify Risk of Attrition

This study explores the value in using the difference between a students predicted first-year grade point average (FYGPA), based on high school grade point average and SAT scores, and their observed FYGPA, namely, their FYGPA residual, as a tool in identifying those at risk for leaving an institution. Specifically, this study examined whether college students who did not perform as expected (earned higher or lower 1st-year grades) were more likely to leave their institution. Based on a large national sample, hierarchical generalized linear modeling was employed to model the relationship between a students FYGPA residual and retention in college, taking into account both relevant student and institutional characteristics. Results showed that both under- and overperforming students were more likely to leave after their 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-year of college as compared to their academically similar peers who performed as expected. Recommendations for postsecondary institutions to incorporate this information as part of a cost-effective and efficient detection tool to identify students that may be at risk for not completing their degrees and to help improve institutional retention rates are provided.