The Prediction of the Index at Graduation from the Grades in Seven Required Courses

Abstract

GUIDANCE IS an essential function of education, particularly at the guidance level. Guidance consists of the appraisal of needs, abilities, and interests of the individual in order to give him aid and counsel concerning his needs, to point out his capacities and to aid him in making adjustments and decisions which will contribute to his growth and success as a person. The various as pects of guidance render it important that the educator be able to predict aca demic achievement. Especially is the prediction of academic success impor tant as a means both of selecting students for admission to graduate school and of determining the proper placement of individual students within curricula and courses. A major factor in determining academic success is the attain ment of the student at graduation from college. Satisfactory achieve ment in college constitutes a basic step toward success in the graduate school curric ulum. Accordingly, educators, particularly at the graduate level, are becoming increasingly aware of the value and significance of prognostic procedures for guidance purposes and particularly for the selection of graduate students. Thus, many measures have been utilized to determine the abilities, aptitudes, and interests of college graduates with the proper placement of individual per sons, the objective. Furthermore, prognostic methods have been widely used for the purpose of ascertaining the advisability of an individual college gradu ate pursuing a scholarly career and likewise as a means of predicting success in graduate school. The prediction of scholastic success in graduate school is a major need, which is of primary significance both to the individual student, and also to the college. Satisfactory achievement at graduation is one of the first steps to ward success in other deviations of the scholastic field. Unless the individual can perform satisfactorily the work that is required in the undergraduate course, the question of ultimate success in graduate work need not be raised. Hence, time and effort might be spared for professors as well as for stu dents, if the individual could be informed early in his college career of his chances for success in scholastic work on the graduate level. This means of advising the applicant for graduate school should be of great advantage to the student in terms of time and money saved for those who have not the necessary