University Entrance Score Research Articles

Home Education: Needs, Challenges, and the Role of Higher Education Institutions

Home education has garnered significant attention from governments worldwide. This educational approach prompts inquiries about quality, social-emotional development, potential child abuse, curriculum, academic outcomes, and parental involvement. Despite its historical presence in the United States since the 1900s, homeschooling has experienced gradual growth, influenced by regulatory efforts and family dynamics. The emergence of COVID-19 further accelerated this trend, with the number of homeschooling families in the US rising from 1,690,000 in 2016 to 2.6 million in 2020 and reaching 3 million by 2021 Globally, over 300 million families have embraced this educational model. This research employs a mixed, non-experimental, descriptive methodology and focuses on Puerto Rico. It examines demographic data, needs, and obstacles encountered by homeschooling families, categorizing them by groups, regions, teaching methods, and religious affiliations. Additionally, the study explores the role of universities as potential partners in supporting and serving homeschooling families. Furthermore, we present international research findings on academic achievement and socialization among homeschooled students, drawing from several studies and university entrance scores.

Prevalence and relevant factors of nocturia and its impact on sleep quality in Chinese university students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and relevant factors of nocturia and its impact on sleep quality in university students in Mainland China. A large-scale survey was conducted on 14,000 university students from 3 universities in Henan province, China by using an anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire collected the information from the past six months. The relationships between the prevalence of nocturia and its relevant factors were evaluated. A total of 13,874 questionnaires were collected and 13,104 qualified for statistical analysis. A total of 659 students suffered from clinically relevant nocturia (CRN) (4.56% in male and 5.34% in female). Both univariate analysis and the logistic stepwise regression model showed that the prevalence of nocturia was significantly related to female, history of enuresis, ease of waking up, urgency, frequency and RUTI (P < 0.05). The sleep quality and the university entrance score of CRN group was significantly lower than that of control group (P < 0.05). Nocturia was common in Chinese university students and showed a negative impact on sleep and academic performance. Gender of female, history of enuresis, ease of waking up, urgency, frequency and RUTI were relevant factors for CRN.

Investigation of University Entrance Scores and Choice of Majors on Academic Achievement of First Year Students

Higher education has an important role in shaping one's career and future. In this context, university entrance scores and choice of majors are considered as crucial factors that can affect the academic achievement of first-year students.This research needs to be conducted to see whether there is an influence between entrance scores and choice of major on the academic achievement of first-year students. Based on the data and results of the analysis, it shows that there is no positive relationship between high university entrance scores and the academic achievement of first-year students. In addition, students who choose majors according to their interests and abilities have no significant effect on their academic achievement.

Analysis of Vocational Choice Satisfactions and Factors Affecting Vocational Choices of University Students in According to Some Independent Variables

The general purpose of this study is to analyze the factors affecting university students’ vocational choices and their satisfaction with their vocational choices in terms of gender and economic situation perception variables. In line with this general purpose, firstly, the affecting factors of the vocational choices of university students were determined, and then the satisfaction of university students with their vocational choices was examined. Following these determinations, the factors affecting vocational choice for male and female students and whether vocational satisfaction differs in terms of the economic situation perceived by male and female students were investigated. This research, which aims to determine the factors affecting university students’ vocational choices and their satisfaction with their vocational choices, is in a comparative type of relational screening model. The scanning model is used to detect a situation, individual or object that occurred in the past or is still ongoing, in its own conditions and as it exists. In determining the sample size, the number criterion corresponding to five times the number of items in the survey was taken as the basis. Since the number of items in the scale is 25, the sample must be at least 125. This research was conducted in 2014 with 692 university students in Anadolu University, Hacettepe University, Selçuk University and Yalova University. Data were collected with the “Vocational Choice Survey” (VCS) developed by the researchers based on literature review. VCS consists of 25 open and closed-ended questions covering vocational choice characteristics. SPSS 21 statistical package program was used to analyze the data collected from the students. Frequency distribution and Chi-Square Test were used to analyze the data. Research findings reveal that the most important factor affecting university students’ vocational choices is the employment opportunities of the department they study in. Apart from this, it is seen that the suitability of the department of study with their personality, the university entrance score obtained, the desire to meet the demands of the family and the increase in demand for the department of study are also effective factors in the vocational choices of university students. The research results show that the university students included in the research have high levels of vocational satisfaction. In addition, the results of the research reveal that university students’ perceptions of their economic situation are not a factor affecting their vocational choices and satisfaction, but gender is an important variable affecting the vocational choices and satisfaction of university students. Based on these research findings, it can be recommended to make reforms in the education system that will increase male students’ satisfaction in their professional choices and transform their social role perceptions.

Determining Nursing Students’ Dominant Learning Styles and Evaluating the Affecting Factors Using Decision Tree Method

Aim and Background: Identifying the learning styles is important to ensure full and effective learning in nursing students studying in a field that requires clinical practice and experience. For this aim, determined the dominant learning styles of nursing students and to evaluate the affecting factors using the decision tree method. Methods: The study was conducted with 421 students studying nursing at a university in Turkey. “CART”, “CHAID” and “QUEST” decision tree algorithms were used to evaluate the factors affecting learning styles. Results: Of the students, 48% had visual, 36% tactile, 9% kinesthetic, and 7% auditory learning styles. In the decision tree model, living place and university entrance scores were found to have statistically significant effects on learning styles (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: This study determined that nursing students predominantly had the visual learning style and that the living place was the variable with the most pronounced effect on learning style.

How to improve the predictive validity of a composite admission score? A case study from Hungary

An essential task in higher education is to construct a fair admission procedure. A great deal of research has been conducted on a central aspect of admission: predictive validity. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates how the predictive validity of a composite admission score could be improved without redesigning the tests and introducing new measures. In this study, relying on the existing instruments of the Hungarian nationally standardized university entrance score, we construct an alternative score that not only has higher predictive validity but also a lower variation across disciplines and a smaller under- and overprediction bias in various student groups. To measure the predictive validity, we use an advanced statistical framework. The analysis relies on data of 24,675 students enrolled in the undergraduate programs of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. We find that while the current score is effective in predicting university success, its predictive validity can be improved by a few changes: lifting the branching nature of the admission, focusing on general rather than program-specific knowledge, and introducing a multiplicative rewarding scheme for advanced level examinations.

Differential effect of university entrance scores on graduates’ performance: the case of degree completion on time in Portugal

Degree completion on theoretical time is a phenomenon seldom explored in the higher education literature. We applied variance components models and random coefficients models to the microdata of an entire entrant cohort of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who completed their three-year programme at a Portuguese institution during the theoretical period. The study showed that the variance partition coefficient is 0.27, considering the hierarchical structure of students nested in programmes. The differential effect of students’ university entrance scores on degree completion grade point average is stronger across programmes than across faculties, controlling for students’ sociodemographic background (gender, age and parents’ level of education), social scholarship granted, and preference regarding the institution and programme attended. The fixed effects related to the areas of study and type of institution (e.g. university or polytechnic) were also quantified. The estimates indicated that secondary school preparation is the most important predictive factor for the final grade point average of degree completion among the variables at enrolment. Moreover, differences based on gender, age, and areas of study were found.

Sample attrition analysis in a prospective cohort study of medical graduates in China

BackgroundA major challenge of prospective cohort studies is attrition in follow-up surveys. This study investigated attrition in a prospective cohort comprised of medical graduates in China. We described status of attrition, identified participants with higher possibility of attrition, and examined if attrition affect the estimation of the key outcome measures.MethodsThe cohort study recruited 3,620 new medical graduates from four medical universities in central and western China between 2015 and 2019. Online follow-up surveys were conducted on an annual basis. Follow-up status was defined as complete (meaning that the participant completed all the follow-up surveys) and incomplete, while incomplete follow-up was further divided into ‘always-out’, ‘rejoin’ and ‘other’. Multivariable logistic and linear regressions were used to examine factors predicting attrition and the influence on the outcome measures of career development.Results2364 (65.3%) participants completed all follow-up surveys. For those with incomplete follow-up, 520 (14.4%) were ‘always-out’, 276 (7.6%) rejoined in the 2020 survey. Willingness to participate in residency training (OR=0.80, 95%CI[0.66 - 0.98]) and willingness to provide sensitive information in the baseline survey predicted a lower rate of attrition (providing scores for university entrance exam OR=0.82, 95%CI[0.69 - 0.97]]; providing contact information (OR=0.46, 95%CI[0.32 - 0.66]); providing household income (OR=0.60, 95%CI[0.43 - 0.84]). Participants with compulsory rural service (OR=1.52, 95%CI[1.05 - 2.19]) and those providing university entrance scores (OR=1.64, 95%CI[1.15-2.33)) were more likely to rejoin in the follow-up survey. These factors associated with follow-up status did not have significant impact on key outcome measures of career development.ConclusionsGraduates who were unwilling to participate in residency training or not providing sensitive information should be targeted early in the cohort study to reduce attrition. More information about the study should be provided to those graduates early to facilitate their understanding of the meaning in participation. On the contrary, medical graduates with compulsory rural service and those who provided university entrance scores were more likely to rejoin in the cohort. The research team should invest more effort in contacting those graduates and returned them to the cohort.

Trajectories of subject-interests development and influence factors in higher education

It is a well-studied phenomenon, that throughout the course of studying at university, the motivation for the study program decreases. Correlation between motivation and learners’ behaviour, for example the learning process, achievement or, in the worst case, dropout exist. So there is a need for understanding the development of motivation in detail, like that of subject-interests, and for identifying influence factors, especially for higher education. This panel study examined the development of 4,345 students in higher education. Growth mixture models for subject-interests identify two classes of trajectories: “descending interest” and “continuously high interest”. In a next step, the analysis shows that gender, university entrance score, academic field and occupational aspiration influence membership of the classes. The results are discussed with respect to their consequences for education programs, but also with respect to possible new research questions.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on grade inflation in higher education in Turkey.

This study analyzes the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on grade inflation in higher education. Data were collected from five universities in Turkey, including grades of 152,352 students who attended 2,841 courses conducted by 903 instructors before the COVID-19 pandemic and grades of 149,936 students who attended 2,841 courses conducted by 847 instructors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic causes a marginal increase in grades in higher education when the other factors that might explain the differences are controlled. Grade inflation of 9.21% is the highest ever reported in literature. Compared with a year ago, DD and DC grades decreased 55%; FD and FF grades decreased 31%; and the highest-grade AA increased 41% for courses taken during the pandemic. Additionally, classroom population, academic history of the instructor, class level, field, university entrance scores, and course execution and evaluation (grading) forms of course notes are important determinants. This increase can be explained by the effort of instructors who are accustomed to face-to-face settings. When they suddenly switch to distant education, they might try to grade higher to compensate for the unforeseen negative circumstances.

Traits versus Grades—The Incremental Predictive Power of Positive Psychological Factors over Pre-Enrollment Achievement Measures on Academic Performance

Understanding what (and to what extent) psychological factors affect university performance has attracted a lot of research interest recently. In this paper, we use logistic regression models to study the incremental predictive power of positive psychological factors over pre-enrollment achievement measures on academic performance. The study is based on the data of 302 business and economics undergraduate students from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Coping proved to be the most important factor that sheds light on the importance of stress management for students. We also found that using properly chosen psychological factors measuring coping, personality traits, psychological immune system, emotional intelligence, and PERMA (P—positive emotion, E—engagement, R—relationships, M—meaning, A—accomplishments) factors, together with the university entrance score and academic performance can be predicted significantly better than solely relying on pre-enrollment achievement measures.

Comprehensive analysis of the predictive validity of the university entrance score in Hungary

An important problem in higher education is to find the most suitable admission procedure that can distinguish between students with high academic potential and future dropouts. Admissions usually rely on pre-enrolment achievement measures; therefore, it is crucial that these selection criteria have high predictive validity on academic achievement. In this study, we use sophisticated statistical learning methods, such as receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, logistic and Tobit regression to analyse the predictive validity of the Hungarian university entrance score on final university performance, in particular on degree completion and qualification. We place particular emphasis on drawing statistically grounded conclusions. The analysis is built on data of 21,547 undergraduate students from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. We find that the current Hungarian centralised entrance score is a valid predictor, however, its predictive validity varies significantly across disciplines. We find that high school grades have strong predictive validity, and general knowledge is more important than program-specific knowledge. We also find that the academic performance of females is underpredicted and that of the males is overpredicted by the university entrance score.

Analysis of Digital Literacy Self-Efficacy Levels of Pre-service Teachers

This research attempts to analyze the pre-service teachers’ digital literacy self-efficacy in terms of various variables. The research used descriptive survey model, one of the survey models. The participants of the research consisted of 251 pre-service teachers learning at the departments of classroom teaching and social sciences teaching at a state university in Turkey. The participants were selected by convenience sampling method. The research employed Personal Information Form and Digital Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale as data collection tools. Descriptive statistical, t-test, one-way analysis of variance were used during data analysis. The research results revealed that the pre-service teachers’ digital literacy self-efficacy levels significantly differed across their gender, department, the presence of computer and internet at home; whereas, no significant difference was identified across the pre-service teachers’ digital literacy self-efficacy levels in terms of their class level, university entrance score type and the purposes of using technology.

Predicting Academic Success: A Longitudinal Study of University Design Students

AbstractThis article presents a longitudinal study, over eleven years, of the academic progress of a cohort of design students (n = 475) at a major Australian university. The students were from four different spatial design disciplines: architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. The article identifies cognitive variables that may predict future academic success. This research uses regression analysis to identify correlations across a range of variables, in particular exploring the relationship between university entrance scores, subjects studied at school (art and graphics) and academic success as defined by university grade point average and time to completion. This study shows that prior knowledge in art and graphics is not a useful predictor of future academic success, while university entrance scores and first year performance are related to ongoing academic success. These results suggest that for the design disciplines explored here, discipline‐specific prior knowledge is not an important requirement for university entrance.

The use of self-determination theory to investigate career aspiration, choice of major and academic achievement of tertiary science students

ABSTRACT This study investigated the interrelationships among university entrance score, career aspiration, academic major, and academic achievement, of foundation year students, at an overall level and at completion of each year level of a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Self-determination theory (SDT) was used as the underlying model for this study, which comprised 157 students who had completed their degree over 2015–2017. Results were analysed in terms of students’ intrinsic motivations (career aspiration and academic major), extrinsic motivations (university entrance score and academic success) and an amotivational factor (gender). We propose a model to explain the observed change in importance between BSc students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, as a function of time and their increasing autonomy. If our results reflect broader patterns among Australian students undertaking post-secondary education, the use of grounded SDT-based approaches during foundation year may allow students to make more informed choices of academic major, and through this enhance their academic achievement.

The impact of labor market work and educational tracking on student educational outcomes: Evidence from Taiwan

This study empirically investigates how working while enrolled in high school affects educational outcomes, while accounting for self-selected educational tracking. Using a longitudinal survey of Taiwanese youth and exploiting the inter-zip-code geographic variations in youth-preferred industries, we find a negative effect of school-year work on educational achievement, and the negative marginal impact is much stronger for academic-track than for vocational-track students. An exogenous increase in school-year hours worked of 10 hours per week lowers college entrance scores by a 0.117 (0.083) standard deviation for academic-track (vocational-track) students. The negative impact of school-year work tends to be overstated if the endogeneity arising from educational tracking is not acknowledged—with upward biases as large as 16% and 30% for academic- and vocational-track students, respectively. Among subjects, math scores suffer most from working during the school year.

Communication apprehension and level of anxiety in the medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND:Communication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety about communicating. This study was designed to investigate the CA and its related factors in the medical students at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS).MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, personal report of CA (PRCA-24) was administered to 340 medical and paramedical students to measure anxiety in four domains of large groups, small groups, public speaking, and dyadic interaction. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between CA and the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis Test).RESULTS:CA in the dimension of public speaking was higher than the other dimensions. Evaluation of the economic stability and its relationship to CA indicated a significant difference among all the domains of the PRCA-24. There was a significant relationship between the scores of CA and the number of siblings (P = 0.001). Linear regression and Pearson's correlation tests indicated a significant correlation between the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. The correlation between the CA with dimensions of group discussion, interpersonal, speaking, and meeting was weak but significant (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:Without communication, the materialization and development of the human community are not possible. This aspect is more evident and crucial in the healthcare industry. Based on the results of this study, the medical and paramedical students at RUMS have a medium-to-high level of CA. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to detect students with high CA to prevent further communication problems after graduation.

Predicting student’s academic performance by applying data mining technique.

The situation of students being forced to stop their studies is currently very popular at universities in Vietnam. This paper proposes a method for predicting students’ dropout based on the analysis of data from the university entrance scores, paper scores of subjects in the first three semesters and the current learning status of more than 555 students majoring in IT at Vinh University. Through these data, the Logistic Regression and Naïve Bayes data mining algorithms were applied to find a suitable model for predicting students’ dropout in the next courses. This study will help the university to give early warnings and supports to reduce the rate of students’ dropout in the next courses.

Redesigning first year anatomy and physiology subjects for allied health students: Impact of active learning strategies

To combat high failure rates in an Anatomy and Physiology for first year Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Sport Science students, a flipped classroom was introduced in 2015. It became apparent that students did not engage with materials prior to classes, but they did engage with in-class active learning strategies. In subsequent years of this study, our focus changed to delivery with student active learning in mind. The active learning approaches introduced resulted in improvements in academic performance for all three student cohorts. Occupational Therapy students’ marks improved by 12.9% when comparing pre-intervention (2014) results to the end of the post-intervention period (2017), Physiotherapy students’ marks increased by 6.9%, while the greatest gains of 14.8% were seen in Sport Science students. When investigating the relationship between student performance and university entrance scores, students with high entrance scores demonstrated modest gains in performance, while those students with lower entrance scores benefited the most. Our results suggest that the introduction of active learning may result in the transition of the learning style of students under-prepared for university studies, to be more like those of more successful students; that is, to a deeper level of learning.

Student’s access and performance in the Portuguese Higher Education: Issues of gender, age, socio-cultural background, expectations, and program choice

The purpose of this article is to characterize and contribute to the debate on the democratization of Portuguese higher education, both in terms of access and the performance of students enrolled in a public university. The analyses concern the sociodemographic characteristics and schooling trajectory of the 2,697 students enrolled for the first time in the University of Minho in the academic year 2015/16. The relationships between such characteristics and the choice of program, expectations regarding higher education, the criteria of admission, and the association with their permanence and performance in the first year of studies are explored as well. Several statistical tests were applied, such as those based on multivariate analysis of variance, chi-squared test for the independence between variables, or the t-Student test for the comparison of means of two independent samples. Results suggest that student’s gender, socio-cultural background and schooling trajectory are related to the choice of the programe, university entrance score and the entrance option. The multivariate analysis of variance of student’s grade point average at the end of the first year suggests the influence of the interaction between the fixed term of scientific-disciplinary area of the program attended and the program option of access to higher education. We did not find any statistically significant association between socio-cultural background and permanence in higher education; i.e, the socio-cultural origin of the students does not seem to influence the decision to abandon, suspend or transfer program, at least during their first year of studies. Our findings suggest student’s resilience and/or institutional action meaning a step further on the path for social equity in the Portuguese higher education.