College Grades Research Articles

The detrimental effect of academic procrastination on subsequent grades: the mediating role of coping over and above past achievement and working memory capacity

ABSTRACTBackground: Academic procrastination is common among university students and its effect on their achievement is worrisome. Although procrastination is often depicted as self-regulation failure, research still needs to examine the self-regulatory mechanisms involved in the relationship between procrastination and achievement.Objectives: In this prospective study, we sought to (a) unravel the unique effect of academic procrastination on university grades, (b) examine the mediating role of task-oriented and disengagement-oriented coping as a self-regulatory pathway toward achievement, (c) control for the potential confounding influence of past achievement and working memory capacity.Methods: A sample of 258 university students completed self-report measures of academic procrastination and coping, and performed tests of working memory. Their semester grade point average was collected at the end of the semester.Results: Results of structural equation modeling showed that academic procrastination negatively predicted subsequent academic achievement, even after controlling for high school achievement and working memory capacity. Furthermore, indirect effects revealed that task- and disengagement-oriented coping explained 70% of the total effect.Conclusion: These findings outline that the effect of academic procrastination cannot be reduced to a history of academic difficulties or limited cognitive ability and that coping plays an important role in the procrastination – achievement relationship.

Providing a Context for Interpreting Predictions of Job Performance

AbstractA distinction is made between scores as measures of a construct and predictions of a criterion or outcome variable. The interpretation attached to predictions of criteria, such as job performance or college grade point average (GPA), differs from that attached to scores that are measures of a construct, such as reading proficiency or knowledge about a domain (e.g., physics). In contrast to a score whose meaning is tied to the fidelity with which it measures a construct, the meaning of a prediction is tied to the statistical relationship of its scale to that of the criterion. A contrived example that might be seen in an employment setting is used to illustrate potential misinterpretations associated with making the predicted score distribution look like the criterion score distribution it is predicting.

Relación entre estrategias activas de afrontamiento, burnout y engagement en futuros educadores

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of approach coping on academic burnout and engagement dimensions in a sample of 775 students among different university grades of Educational Sciences. Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), Utrecht Work Engagement Student Scale (UWES-SS) and Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI) were employed. The results show that most of the approach coping significantly and negatively predicts burnout but significantly and positively predicted engagement. The intervention programs have to consider those strategies to prevent burnout and to increase engagement.

Survey of energy drink consumption and adverse health effects in Lebanon.

Consumption of energy is a national and international phenomenon that showed increase in market spread and profits from 1990 and made the emergence of many brands. Energy drinks are aggressively marketed with the claim that these products give an energy boost to improve physical and cognitive performance. However, studies supporting these claims are limited. The study examines the new phenomena of energy drinks among university students in Lebanon, based on the participants' personnel characteristics, university grade and the impact on health status. The study also determined whether high frequency of consumption was correlated with negative physical health symptoms. A cross-sectional study survey was undertaken on students aged between 18 and 30years in private university over three branches (Beirut, Tripoli and Saida). A self-administered questionnaire was used inquiring about socio-demographic characteristics, consumption patterns and side effect of energy drinks. Data was analyzed using SPSS 24. Findings showed a serious concern exists for the health and safety of the most at risk students who engaged in daily energy drink usage when two-thirds of these reported difficulties sleeping, more than one experienced heart palpitation and blood pressure; one-third had anxiety, nervousness and feeling thirsty, and one fifth indicated tiredness and headache. Such symptoms are reported with excessive consumption of caffeine that had adverse health effect on the body.

Longitudinal Evaluation of University GPA and Real Performance of Mathematics Graduates

Background and Objective: Saudi Arabian university graduates are required to qualify a national examination test related to their field in order to ratify their degrees. The results of mathematics graduate in this exam were not appreciable. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the reasons of low success rate of the students besides having higher Grade Point Averages (GPAs). This research constituted a longitudinal performance analysis of mathematics students who graduated during 2010-2014 from the Department of Mathematics, College of Sciences and Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The study population comprised of 97 graduates who belonged to either government schools or private schools at secondary level and admitted to the University for Bachelor degree, which they qualified. The mathematics skills of these graduates were tested at four levels; firstly, skills before entering to the university; secondly, at the entry levels in the university; thirdly, after graduation from the University and fourthly; during their employment in the various organizations level. A longitudinal, correlative and case study research methods were employed to obtain descriptive statistics such as correlations and multiple regressions analysis. Results: There appeared a significant positive and weak relationship between the high school grades averages and the university GPA. The students who secured good grades in school also secured good grades in university and vice versa. The students who graduated from the government schools performed better in mathematics skills as compared to the students who came out from private schools. There was inflating tendency of grades to the students in university as compared to their actual mathematical skills because the students who obtained 3.0 GPA in the university successively failed even in their seventh attempt to pass compulsory national aptitude test in order to ratify their degrees. Conclusion: It was recommend that the university authorities must devise strategies to linking grades to actual skills of students and tendency to inflate grade must be restricted and a comprehensive study be undertaken at whole of the university level as well as at all universities level to generalize these results.

Changing abilities vs. changing tasks: Examining validity degradation with test scores and college performance criteria both assessed longitudinally.

We explore potential explanations for validity degradation using a unique predictive validation data set containing up to four consecutive years of high school students' cognitive test scores and four complete years of those students' college grades. This data set permits analyses that disentangle the effects of predictor-score age and timing of criterion measurements on validity degradation. We investigate the extent to which validity degradation is explained by criterion dynamism versus the limited shelf-life of ability scores. We also explore whether validity degradation is attributable to fluctuations in criterion variability over time and/or GPA contamination from individual differences in course-taking patterns. Analyses of multiyear predictor data suggest that changes to the determinants of performance over time have much stronger effects on validity degradation than does the shelf-life of cognitive test scores. The age of predictor scores had only a modest relationship with criterion-related validity when the criterion measurement occasion was held constant. Practical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Exploring Predictors of NCLEX-RN Success: One School's Search for Excellence.

The NCLEX-RN pass rate serves as a key indicator of the achievement of a nursing program's academic goals and may be a vital component of state board approval and the accreditation process. To improve on the program's pass rates, a comprehensive mentorship program was instituted. The The Passan School of Nursing at Wilkes University used gaming strategies, content reviews, computerized integrative testing, and learning packages to assist students preparing for the licensure examination. A retrospective regression analysis was performed to examine predictors of NCLEX-RN success. Pass rates improved each year from a baseline of 79.17% in 2014 to 83.82% in 2015 and 90.14% in 2016. Logistic regression analysis revealed that overall college grade point average (p = .001) and a comprehensive examination in the NCLEX-RN format (p = .001) were significant predictors of NCLEX-RN success. The comprehensive mentoring program has been successful in raising the overall NCLEX-RN pass rate. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(9):554-556.].

Reprint of “Conceptual change and knowledge integration as learning processes in higher education: A latent transition analysis”

Conceptual change, that is, a restructuring of incompatible prior knowledge, is a well investigated learning mechanism in school children's acquisition of new concepts. An understanding of academic concepts is also a central learning goal of higher education. However, there is almost no research on conceptual change and knowledge integration in higher education. We tracked 137 undergraduate psychology students' concepts of human memory longitudinally over four semesters. A latent profile transition analysis (LPTA) showed that the students' development followed six transition paths between four knowledge profiles. These developmental pathways were well-ordered, indicated a general trend from fragmented knowledge to integrated scientific knowledge, and correlated with the students' university grades and with an additional test of memory understanding. The findings highlight the importance of conceptual change, in particular, knowledge integration in higher education, and exemplify the usefulness of LPTA for modeling individual differences in longitudinal changes of multidimensional knowledge structures.

Migration in Denpasar City: Study of Adaptation Strategy and Its Implication of Social Culture and Environment

Denpasar City, both as the capital of Bali as well as the center of trade, education, and tourism destinations. This potential is a strong attraction for the migrants to come and settle in Denpasar City. The purposes of this study are: 1) to get an overview of the characteristics of the migrants; 2) understanding the pattern of migrant adaptation; and 3) to analyze its implications of socio-cultural and environment. The approach method used is descriptive qualitative. Data collection used through structured interviews, observation, and Focus Group Discussion. Based on the analysis, this study found that the average age of migrants classified as productive, is in the range 30-40 years. The level of education of migrants is quite good, mostly high school and even some university grade. The pattern of adaptation that is done tends to choose clustered residence based on the similarity of ethnic and religion background. The socio-cultural implications have not been so apparent, that local cultures are still dominant. The implications for the environment appear to be quite significant, which is marked by the increasing number of land conversion for various designations. The emergence of slums and semi-permanent settlements built to meet the needs of many migrants throughout the sub district in Denpasar. This condition then injured the icon of Denpasar as a cultural city. Beside that, the quality of environments and raw water of the population has decreased, caused due of domestic household waste and wastewater of the garment industry and laundry services.

Teaching: Complex, Challenging, Inspiring, Endlessly Interesting, and Always Vital

“It appears, therefore, that of all secular professions, teaching is the most profoundly important,” stated Robert Menzies, former Australian prime minister. Teaching is important—true. But teaching encompasses so much more than the act of instruction. Teaching is multifaceted: it constantly challenges, inspires, shapes, and changes us in many ways. Teaching is challenging. We often are faced with internal and external disruptions; assemblies, student discipline issues, family crises, and extra-curricular activities interrupt classroom time. Externally determined expectations and curricular requirements change constantly, bringing fresh ideas into our classrooms but sometimes at the cost of constraining or even removing some favored instructional method or goal. While many states have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards to guide pre-college science instruction, expectations still vary, and even though education has become somewhat more standardized, we still have a national patchwork of educational goals and practices. One colleague mused, “Being a good teacher is like trying to hit a moving target.” There always seems to be a lack of resources and too many demands on our time, but we are resourceful, and we rise above these trials …

Information-seeking behaviour and academic success in higher education: Which search strategies matter for grade differences among university students and how does this relevance differ by field of study?

Today, most college students use the Internet when preparing for exams or homework. Yet, research has shown that undergraduates’ information literacy skills are often insufficient. In this paper, we empirically test the relation between information-seeking strategies and grades in university. We synthesise arguments from the literature on information-seeking behaviour and approaches to learning in tertiary education. Building on the distinction between deep- and surface-level learning, we develop a classification of online search strategies and contrast it with traditional information behaviour. Multivariate analyses using a two-wave online survey among undergraduate students at a German university indicate that using advanced online information-seeking strategies is a significant and robust predictor of better grades. However, there are notable differences between subject groups: Traditional information behaviour is still crucial in the humanities. Advanced search strategies are beneficial in all settings, but only one in four students uses these early on, while this share increases to around 50% over the course of studies.

Who Makes the Grade? Research Comparing Self, Peer and Instructor Grades in College

With the increase in large college classes and online education, student grading of their own work and that of peers is also increasing in frequency. This meta-analysis of 36 studies and 103 effect sizes examined several questions regarding the relationship between grades assigned by college students (either to themselves or peers) and those assigned by their instructors on the same assessment. On average, students graded themselves .41 standard deviations higher than their instructors. The grade distribution correlation between the two types of graders averaged r=.71. Inter-judge reliability estimates suggested that a range of 2-4 peer-graders are needed in order to attain the same level of reliability achieved by the instructor. Little research was found on the effect of student grading on subsequent student performance. Moderator analyses revealed that differences between graders appeared to be minimized when (a) students are grading a peer’s work rather then their own, (b) they are in their freshman versus sophomore, junior or senior year, (c) some form of training is given, (d) assessment has lower stakes, (e) more objective tests are given, and (f) course content is English, social science, or professional versus science or engineering. These results have implications for what contexts best facilitate the use of students as graders, and bring to light areas where future research is needed.

Insights gained from a comparison of South African and Canadian first-generation students: the impact of resilience and resourcefulness on higher education success

ABSTRACTFirst-generation students are often described as disadvantaged in university adjustment, self-efficacy and grades. Yet this deficit model of understanding first-generation students ignores their cultural capital, which could increase resilience and resourcefulness. Here, 844 students (31% first-generation) in South Africa and Canada completed measures of resilience, resourcefulness, university adjustment, academic self-efficacy and self-reported grades. Overall, the results reveal that the characterisation of first-generation students is culturally specific and, in some ways, differs between Canada and South Africa. That is, the deficit model may better describe Canadian than South African first-generation students. Yet, in many ways first-generation students are like their peers and their academic outcomes are predicted by their culturally specific levels of resourcefulness and resilience. This study support the notion that the positives students bring to university should be considered and that students would benefit from being taught the requisite skills involved in increasing resourcefulness and resilience.

Test of simple effect of work process-oriented theory nursing ward round on critical thinking capacity of nursing undergraduates

Objective Toexplore work process-oriented theory nursing ward round, research work process-oriented theory nursing ward round on critical thinking capacity of nursing undergraduates. Methods Totally 80 Elective nursing ward round courses of nursing undergraduates were divided into the experimental A group and the experimental b group with 40 cases in each group. The experimental A group select the beginning of 9 weeks on Until, the experimental B group select the after of 9 weeks on Until. The nursing undergraduates were assessed by CTDI-CV on first, ninth, eighteenth weeks to evaluate the effect of the two groups. Results Main effect of group factor and time factor of CTDI-CV had statistical significance (P<0.05) . There were significant interaction in the scores of CTDI-CV. Simple effect analysis demonstrated the scores of CTDI-CV in the experimental A group were higher than those of the experimental b group after the intervention (P<0.05) . Two groups of on first, ninth, eighteenth weeks measured values compared the effect of amount of FB<FA, the experimental group A intervention effect was better than in the experimental group B intervention. Conclusions For nursing undergraduates guided based on the working process of the curriculum of nursing ward round the critical thinking ability had good practice guidance, and on the start time to choose university grade three semester two on 9 weeks before commencement of nursing undergraduates promotes higher critical thinking ability. Key words: Work process-oriented; Nursing ward round; Critical thinking capacity; Nursing undergraduates

Establishing empirical links between high school assessments and college outcomes: An essential requirement for college readiness interpretations

ABSTRACTAs states evaluate whether they should continue with their current assessment program or adopt next-generation college readiness assessments, it is important to ascertain the degree to which current high school assessments can be used for college readiness interpretations. In this study, we examined the ability of a state assessment to serve as an indicator of college readiness. Empirical evidence is presented summarizing relationships between performance on the standards-based high school assessment and performance in college. Benchmarks were set on the Reading, Mathematics, and Science tests by linking assessment scores directly to grades in college courses. The accuracy of the benchmarks was similar to that of a traditional college admission test. Students who met the college readiness benchmarks earned higher grades in general education college courses and had higher first-year college grade point averages. Implications for states and other stakeholders are discussed.

First-year success in a nursing baccalaureate plan of study: A descriptive research study

BackgroundPredicting students' aptitude for post-secondary success remains a widely studied topic. This descriptive study explored demographic variables contributing to success in quantitative courses required by the nursing degree plan. Identification of an “at risk” student profile may inform interventions with which to support attainment of an academic degree. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the associations between demographic characteristics and successful completion of baccalaureate nursing courses thought to enhance quantitative reasoning skills: first-year math, first-year chemistry, and second-year pathopharmacology nursing. MethodsThis retrospective analysis accessed 4521 academic records of students who took these three courses at a United States university sometime between Fall 2008 and Fall 2015. De-identified student data included course grades, gender, full-time study, income, marital status, first generation, secondary school (also known as high school) location, dual credit, and high school and university grade point averages. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to describe the important features of the data. ResultsOf the 4521 records, 2556 undergraduates (57%) passed the courses in which they were enrolled. Among successful students, females outnumbered males (66%), ages ranged from 20 to 24 years, 86% were classified as low income, 54% fit the designation of first generation, and 12% earned dual credit (university credit during secondary school). Our data demonstrate a positive relationship between dual credit and success, with the strongest correlation (0.62) noted for students in pathopharmacology. ConclusionIn the baccalaureate-nursing plan of study, courses thought to enhance students' quantitative reasoning skills remain difficult for some to successfully complete. We conclude that the more successful students tend to be older, have a higher income, and a higher high school grade point average, while those less successful are directly out of high school and have not earned dual credit.

Visuospatial abilities and fine motor experiences influence acquisition and maintenance of fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) task performance.

Minimally invasive surgery poses a unique learning curve due to the requirement for non-intuitive psychomotor skills. The fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) program trains and certifies residents in such skills. However, innate predictors of FLS performance and maintenance remain to be described. This single-centre observational study aimed to assess for candidate factors influencing the acquisition and maintenance of FLS performance amongst a surgically naïve cohort. Laparoscopically naïve medical students were recruited from pre-clinical university grades. Participants completed five visuospatial/psychomotor tests and a questionnaire surveying non-surgical experiences and personality traits. Individuals completed baseline assessments of FLS standard tasks followed by an intensive training course over week one and two on inanimate box trainers. A post-training assessment was performed in week three to evaluate acquisition. Participants were withdrawn from exposure and retested at four 1-month intervals to assess maintenance requirements. Forty-nine participants enrolled with 35 (71.4%) and 33 (67.3%) completing acquisition and maintenance phases, respectively. Mean age of participants was 19.3(± 1.2) years with 68.6% female predominance. Participants demonstrated significant improvements in all five tasks during the acquisition (p < 0.05) period and maintenance of skills with task exposure at 1-month intervals. Significant predictors of skill acquisition included: card rotations for intracorporeal knot (p = 0.027) and combined tasks (p = 0.028) and cube comparisons for extracorporeal knot (p = 0.040). During skill maintenance: Card rotations predicted performance across all tasks (p < 0.05), Cube comparisons for tasks 1/2/4/5 (p < 0.05), PicSOR for peg transfer (p = 0.017) and grooved pegboard for peg transfer (p = 0.023) and ligating-loop (p = 0.038) tasks. Musical instrument experience demonstrated associations with skill acquisition in peg transfer (p = 0.042) and intracorporeal knot (p = 0.034) while video gaming predicted performance in these tasks (p < 0.05) during the maintenance phase. A sporting background or competitive personality did not influence skill performance. Multiple visuospatial abilities and non-surgical experiences positively influenced FLS performance during skill acquisition and/or maintenance. Further consideration to these individual factors may facilitate selection of more technically adaptable surgical residents.

Understanding the Link Between Noncognitive Attributes and College Retention

The attention to students’ noncognitive attributes has recently flourished within academic research and public discourse. This paper adds to the literature by examining the interrelationships among several key noncognitive attributes as well as exploring direct and indirect relationships between noncognitive attributes and second-year retention. Within a multi-institutional sample of 10,622 students, academic self-efficacy, academic grit, self-discipline, and time management all load onto a single noncognitive factor with strong inter-item correlations and internal reliability. Moreover, structural equation modeling analyses indicate a sizable and positive indirect effect of noncognitive attributes on college retention, which is mediated by social adjustment, institutional commitment, and college grade point average.

An Analysis on Grammatical Errors in Students' Recount Texts: A Case Study on the Second Grade Students Faculty of Letters Indraprasta PGRI University

&lt;p&gt;This study aims to analyze and classify what types of mistakes made by learners (in this case the second grade students of Indraprasta University PGRI) in applying the simple past tense in the text of recount text. The errors are defined according to Mariusz Trawinski's theory. In addition, this study aims to obtain percentage of each type of mistakes made by learners, as well as to uncover the most dominant mistakes made by learners in using the simple past tense in the text recount. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method, while the general pattern or research design used by the researcher is a case study. Furthermore, the authors chose the second level of students who numbered 25 people as subjects in this study. The data in this research is obtained through the test of making recounts to the students. The result of the error analysis process is that learners perform three types of errors which are regular verb, irregular verbs, and auxiliary verbs. It is seen from the percentage of each type of error, the auxiliary verb is the most commonly performed error type with a percentage of 42.23%. Furthermore, errors in irregular verb is 33.90%, whereas the type of regular verb error is 29.87% of the total errors made by the learner. And from the side of the taxonomy of surface tactics or surface strategy taxonomy, errors in regular verb, irregular verb, and to be auxiliary consist of misformation, misordering, omission, and addition error. The highest error on auxiliary verb is misformation. The highest error on irregular verb is misformation. And the highest error in regular verb is omission. This shows that the use of simple past tense in writing recount text is still difficult to understand the students of the second grade of PGRI Indraprasta University.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords:&lt;/strong&gt; simple past, recount texts

Academic Performance of students from different socio-economic levels in universities: The case of the Catholic University of Chile

This study aims to explore differences in academic performance in universities of students coming from different socioeconomic groups using the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile as a study case. Socioeconomic groups were defined based on the type of school the student graduated from and the household income quintile. One-way ANOVA and Chi Square tests were used to examine whether differences in college grades and persistence were statistically significant. The results indicate that the average scores and persistence rates do not differ substantially when comparing the academic performance of students from different socioeconomic levels. We expect these results contribute to the discussion about inclusion of economically disadvantaged people in universities.