A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship of High School Foreign Language and Mathematics Study to Freshman Grades

Abstract

SOME FORTY years ago, Thorndike ( 8: 421 24) convinced himself and many others that formal dis cipline did not exist. The controversy has subsided somewhat, but there are still many educators who believe that the study of the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics and a foreign language trains the mind for greater life achievement. Recently Rockwell (3:1-3) gathered new data and also reinterpreted data compiled by Rivenberg (3:1) and Ross (5:20-22) to show that college freshmen's grades were directly related to the amount of for eign language studied in high school and were near ly as closely related to the amount of mathematics studied. The amounts of other subjects studied in high school had either a negative or no relationship with college grades. Rockwell concluded that ... secondary-school study of foreign lamguage im proves freshman college grades in all subjects... (4:306). An investigation of the relation of grades of the 1951 freshman class in the College of Arts and Sci ences at the University of Texas to their secondary school study of various subjects showed results (9:1) similar to those reported by Rockwell, Rivenburg, and Ross, as noted above. The consistent agree ment of the several studies pointed up the need of further investigations to explore some of the under lying relationships. It should be noted that Ross ' conclusion from his own data was that ... students are not generally excellent because they take lan guage, but they take language because they are ex cellent. (5:22) In attempts to eliminate some possible uncon trolled sources of differences in previous studies, MacPhail (2), Cole (1), Sorenson (7), andSmithand Douglass (6) formed matched groups on the basis of results on tests of scholastic aptitude in studying the effect of different amounts of one f o r e i gn lan guage (Latin) on college grades. Sorenson was the only one of the above investigators whose con elu sions appeared to support the doctrine of formal discipline; his conclusion was that in predicting ac ademic success, ... Latin seems to differentiate better than do mental test quarters. (7:242). He had matched his groups on the basis of quarters of mental tests rather than exact scores. Mac P hail (2:261-62) matched twenty-seven pairs from 485 students and concluded that, since the grades for the Latin students were only three per cent higher and this difference was 2. 34 times its probable error, definite conclusions could not be drawn. Cole's re sults (1:618-22) were similar to those of MacPhaih Smith and Douglass (6:695-701) matched 101 pairs and obtained slight superiority of college grades for students who had studied Latin in high school, but the t-ratio of 1. 78 was not significant.