The Effects of Instructors and Student Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Characteristics on the Accuracy of Grades Predicted for an Introductory English Composition Course

Abstract

The effects of different instructors and student Myers-Briggs Type Inventory personality characteristics on the accuracy of predicting 1041 introductory English composition grades from a single regression equation were investigated. The instructor variable was defined by three groups of classes: high grade means, average grade means, and low grade means. The Scholastic Aptitude Test Verbal, Test of Standard Written English, and high school class percentile rank were used as the predictors. Analyses compared the regression equations of the class and student personality subgroups. The results suggested that grades were inflated in classes with high means and deflated in classes with low means. For these classes, there was a difference between the regression equations and there was an interaction of the equations with student personality. In the average class, there was not a difference among the student personality regression equations, although grades were more predictable for certain personality types than others. The findings indicate that the accuracy of predicted grades can be substantially influenced by differences among instructors and student personality types.