The purpose of this study is to determine how accurately the academic success of one hundred and sixty-seven freshmen at North Texas State College could have been predicted by the American Council on Education Psychological examinations. The question studied is: Can freshman success, as indicated by first term freshman grades, be better predicted by psychological examination scores than by analysis of their high school grades? In an attempt to answer this question, the relationships existing between the high school grades, psychological examination scores and first term college grades of the freshman class entering North Texas State College in the fall of 1949 have been studied.

Recent legislative decisions in at least some states have removed the remedial function from the state university and placed it directly at the doorstep of the community college. Such decisions appear to have been made largely for reasons of parsimony or the mere presumption of the effectiveness with which two-year colleges address the needs of high-risk students. However, there are few empirical indicators of the differential effectiveness with which the two- and four-year collegiate sectors are helping high-risk students to attain their goals. Therefore, this study was designed to provide an empirical grounding for the aforementioned policy issue by determining how selected pairs of two- and four-year colleges are contributing to the progress of high-risk students. Multiple methods were used to address the issues central to this investigation. An assessment of the effect of remedial programs and other institutional variables on the progress of underprepared students across chosen two- and four-year collegiate sectors in a two-state region of rural Appalachia was performed. Moreover, the impact of residence status on students' progress was considered. Further, the effect of the remedial approaches at separate two- and four-year institutions on the progress of high risk students was assessed, and a comparison was made of the program orientations preferred by the leaders of participant institutions. The findings indicated that the redemptive practices at selected two-year colleges were generally more effective than those employed by participant four-year institutions, thus offering hope that recent trends to assign the remedial function to community colleges may be justified by the more effective delivery of services. The advantage accorded the remedial programs in the two-year sector was not primarily a result of differences in remedial approach but largely a function of the relationship between remedial practices and other institutional variables. Residence status had little effect on the educational progress of high-risk students. A tendency was observed among selected two- and four-year sectors to devalue the affective dimensions of development that were integral with more recent program designs and return to earlier conceptions of basic skills remediation as the primary means of defining existing programs. / Ed. D.

published_or_final_version / Statistics / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this project was to develop a curriculum writing guide to assist faculty at Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) with curriculum development and revision.

The purpose of this project was to develop a curriculum writing guide to assist faculty at Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) with curriculum development and revision.

Studies indicate the educational needs of highly gifted students are best met through accelerated learning. It is difficult to recognize very young children that are suited for an accelerated curriculum because younger students frequently lack school records or portfolios used to identify gifted students. This study examined the accuracy of cognitive ability and achievement tests in predicting academic achievement by the end of second grade, correlating test results and final grade averages collected from sixteen children ages five to six who entered a public school program for high-ability learners in kindergarten. A multiple regression analysis indicated the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence produced the highest mean IQ score and a strong correlation with reading achievement. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test contributed in small part to the prediction of academic achievement. The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition had negative correlations with final grade averages, indicating they are not predictors of academic achievement for these students.

Factors other than academic ones are important in the selection of the members of any profession, and in nursing it could quite well be that those non-academic elements are rather weighted in determining the success or failure of student nurses because of the very nature of their work. This thesis will look at academic as well as other factors that may influence the success of student nurses.

The problem of this study was to determine if study habits can be used to predict academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between selected study skill habits and attitudes and achievement of secondary students in English, mathematics, and spelling. The sample for this study consisted of 82 secondary school students participating in Upward Bound programs at two universities in the north Texas area in a six week period during the summer of 1988. Eighteen different high schools were represented in the study. The sizes of the schools ranged from small to very large. Instruments used were the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes, (SSHA) the Stanford Test of Academic Skills, (TASK), and the Otis-Lennon Mental Abilities Test (OLMAT). The statistical analysis indicated that the four subscores of the SSHA are not accurate predictors of academic achievement. However, some of the correlations among the subscores for the SSHA and the TASK were significant. Most noteable of these were work methods and mathematics, teacher acceptance and mathematics, and work methods and spelling. The recommendation is made that the SSHA should not be used to predict academic achievement in Upward Bound programs. Improving study habits and attitudes should be addressed as a method of refining academic programs, not of predicting academic achievement.

This study provides a rationale for advising students on whether to enroll in individualized/self-paced computer courses. It identifies seven factors that have a significant correlation with success in an individualized computer course. The sample comprises all the students enrolled in individualized computer courses at Lee College, Baytown, Texas in the spring semester of 1988. Students completed a survey to determine whether they had previous computer experiences, whether they operated with a level of introvert personality characteristics, and whether the individualized computer course was their first choice. Students completed a learning style inventory and a score was determined using the items relating to individualized computer studies. Data collected in the Lee College records office included high school percentile rank, standardized reading score, standardized mathematics score, college hours completed, course withdrawals, and age. The following seven factors were shown by the data to have a significant correlation with a final grade (in order of decreasing significance): (a) learning style inventory, (b) high school percentile, (c) standardized mathematics score, (d) standardized reading score, (e) previous computer experience, (f) number of college hours, and (g) age. The following three factors were shown by the data to have no significant correlation with a final grade: (a) course withdrawals, (b) degree of personality introversion, and (c) the individualized computer course as first choice. The findings substantiate the hypothesis that success in an individualized computer course might be attributed to certain factors, and once identified, these factors can be used in advising students. Advisors should use as many of the seven factors (identified as significant), as possible in helping students choose between individualized and traditional computer courses.

The problem of this study was to isolate predictors of academic success in both self-paced classes and lecture classes in Introductory Accounting. The purposes of the study were to determine if learning style, locus of control, reading ability, age, sex, accounting work experience, and prior accounting academic experience are predictors of success in Introductory Accounting classes taught using self-paced methods of instruction and lecture methods of instruction. Another purpose was to determine if there is a difference in the set of predictors of success in the two instructional methods and to provide some direction as to determinants of success which may be addressed by counselors in advising students. The data were collected from 463 students at a suburban community college in the Southwest. Each of the variables was analyzed by a stepwise multiple regression analysis and a backward elimination regression for students grouped according to instructional method. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine whether the distribution of scores on the potential predictor variables were equivalent for students in the two teaching methods and for successful completers of the course and noncompleters. Consideration of the data findings of this study permitted the following conclusions: 1. Age and reading ability have a positive relationship to academic success in an Introductory Accounting course taught in a lecture format. 2. Concrete learning style, as measured by the Learning Style Inventory, age, reading ability, and accounting work experience have a positive relationship to success in an Introductory Accounting course taught in a self-paced format. 3. Age, reading ability, accounting work experience, and a concrete learning style have a positive relationship to academic success in Accounting courses taught using either method. 4. There is a difference in the set of predictors of success for Accounting classes taught using the two instructional methods. 5. There are differences between completers and noncompleters of courses regardless of instructional method.