Lower Grade Point Averages Research Articles

Minority-Status Stresses and the College Adjustment of Ethnic Minority Freshmen

In the ten-year period between 1969 and 1979, minority students enrolled in predominantly White colleges in increasing numbers, due in part to the greater access afforded by affirmative action programs |14~. Since the early 1980s, however, there has been a disturbing regressive trend in the enrollment, academic performance, and retention of these students. For example, African-American and other non-Asian minority students attending predominantly White colleges are less likely to graduate within five years, have lower grade point averages, experience higher attrition rates, and matriculate into graduate programs at lower rates than White students and their counterparts at predominantly Black or minority institutions |3, 6~.(*) Efforts to account for these regressive trends suggest that intellective and academic background factors (that is, aptitude test scores, high-school preparation, and so on) and non-cognitive, contextual, and socio-cultural factors may be differentially associated with the college adjustment and performance of minority and non-minority students |6, 23, 26, 29, 35, 36~. For example, African-American students are more likely than Whites to view predominantly White campuses as hostile, alienating, and socially isolating |1, 2, 4, 10, 16, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36~, and as less responsive to their needs and interests |4~. African-American students have also been found to experience greater estrangement from the campus community |16, 34~ and heightened discomfort in interactions with faculty and peers |20, 30~. In addition, Tracey and Sedlacek |35~ and Nettles, Theony, and Gosman |27~ have found that the academic adjustment and achievement of African-American and other minority students are influenced by different sociocultural and contextual factors (for example, student satisfaction with college, peer group relations) than those that have an impact on White students. In order to define conceptually how these factors might contribute to minority student college adjustment, we have proposed a multidimensional stress-coping model |33~ which identifies three sets of factors as important in minority college student adjustment and achievement: (1) individual attributes that enhance or moderate students' vulnerability to academic failure (for example, academic preparation, intelligence, self-confidence, social maturity); (2) the psychological and sociocultural stresses students face during their academic careers (for example, stresses that are experienced on campus, in the community, and so on); and (3) the strategies students use to cope with these stresses (for example, individual and group appraisals of stresses and the strategies used to cope with them). Consistent with a transactional model of stress and coping |22~, we view the types of stresses experienced, the coping styles used, and the outcomes obtained as mutually interacting. Consequently, the pattern of relationships among these variables are likely to vary as a function of individual, group, and college campus characteristics. We also note that many of the experiences reported by minority students at predominantly White colleges are experienced by and affect all college students and are integral to the role of college student (for example, academic demands, relationship problems, financial worries, and so on). These student role strains constitute a generic pathway of influences and contribute to college maladjustment for all students. However, these generic role strains should be distinguished from the more unique stresses experienced by minority students that heighten feelings of not belonging and interfere with minority students' effective integration into the university community (for example, experiences with racism, questions about their right to be on campus). These experiences are conceptualized as minority status stresses and constitute a separate and additional pathway of risk for maladjustment (that is, an additional stress load). …

Academic Dismissal, Readmission Conditions, and Retention: A Study of Social Science Majors

This project attempts to assess the relative effectiveness of readmission conditions among approximately 500 social science majors at a large state university, supplemented by an analysis of the retention status of almost 7,800 social science students at the same institution. Whites, African-Americans, Hispanics, males, juniors, transfer students, those in their mid-20s, those with interdisciplinary and limited-access majors, and those with low high school grade point averages (GPAs) appear to be most at risk. However, academic success among those who are readmitted is significantly associated only with gender, quality point deficit, and readmission conditions.

The Relationship between Academic Achievement and Social Self-Image During Early Adolescence

This study of 242 young adolescents examined the link between social self-image and academic achievement, as measured by grade point averages (GPAs). Subjects were categorized as academically, socially, or athletically oriented. Among socially oriented girls, those with an average GPA in mathematics had relatively large gains on social self-image, whereas among athletically oriented girls; those with a low GPA in mathematics also had relatively large gains on social self-image. Among socially oriented boys, those with low GPAs in mathematics and science had relatively large gains on social self-image. In contrast, no significant effects were linked to GPAs in non mathematics and science for young people who were oriented toward popularity or athletics. This research may help educators identify factors that turn capable adolescents away from careers in mathematics and science

Effects of questionnaire administration condition on children's achievement-related beliefs.

Fifth graders' responses to a questionnaire assessing causal attributions, academic expectancies, and self-evaluations of smartness varied as a function of wheter the questionnaire was administered individually or in a group. Students with low grade point averages (GPAs) were significantly less likely to attribute their failures to external factors and significantly more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient ability in the individual condition than in the group condition. Students with high GPAs did not give different attributions in the two conditions. Administration condition also influenced children's academic expectancies

Correlates of Health Facilitator Performance in a Tobacco Use Prevention Program: Implications for Recruitment

Tobacco use prevention programs vary by type of health facilitator used to deliver the intervention. Because program outcome may be related to the characteristics of a health facilitator, this study investigated the association between the characteristics of 29 college undergraduate health facilitators of an adolescent tobacco use prevention program with their scores on manageability and inclass performance scales. Results indicated health facilitators who rated themselves as outgoing, adventurous, analytical, and were older rated higher on the inclass performance scale. Facilitators who self-reported they wanted an easy class, had lower grade point averages in their academic major, were less outgoing, and wanted to attend graduate school were rated higher on the manageability scale. Inclass performance scales and ratings on the manageability scale correlated negatively. Implications for health facilitator recruitment are discussed.

Incentives and disincentives for subject matter difficulty and student effort: Course grade determinants across the stratification system

This paper offers a framework blending sociologists' focus on school organization and educational stratification with economists' explicit attention to individual response to incentive structures. The course grade response to student homework time, misbehavior, and difficulty of courses attempted is estimated via fixed effects applied to two waves of a large national sample. We ask whether minority, low SES, and/or non-academic track youths receive weaker incentives for school effort. Each of the independent variables is found to exert a significant effect in the expected direction. However, these effects are small in magnitude; stronger incentives for homework time and good behavior may be desirable. Minority, low SES, and non-academic track youths do not receive lower rewards for such good behavior, and minorities and non-academic track youths suffer weaker penalties for attempting more difficult courses. Yet, the variables examined here are unable to account for the generally lower grade point averages earned by these students. The extent to which such inter-group differences are due to ascription, ability, or motivation remains a research question.

Informed consent: II. Withdrawal-without-prejudice clauses may increase no-shows.

Undergraduate volunteers (N = 132) were either informed of the withdrawal-without-prejudice clause immediately prior to testing or at the time of recruitment several days earlier. Of those informed of the withdrawal clause at recruitment, 50% failed to attend the study session, whereas only 27% of those who were not informed of the clause until the time of the appointment failed to keep the appointment. Performance on a test designed to measure persistence was not affected. No-shows had a more external locus of control over academic matters and lower grade point averages than did appointment keepers.

School performance characteristics preceding onset of smoking in high school students.

The cigarette smoking status of 1,442 high school students was determined by questionnaire. Of the respondents (smoking and nonsmoking), 60% had been enrolled in the same school system during elementary school. Thus, records were available of school absence, grades, achievement tests, and IQ tests during elementary school, prior to the time when the smokers had commenced the practice. Smoking in high school was significantly related to high absence rates, low achievement test scores, and low grade point averages during elementary school years, prior to the onset of smoking. The IQ was not significantly different in the third grade among pupils who became smokers in high school and those who did not, but sixth-grade IQ scores were significantly lower in students who later identified themselves as smokers. Although smokers demonstrated these characteristics prior to beginning smoking, the differences were not large enough to predict which elementary school students would become high school smokers. The findings support the view that smoking and these school-related characteristics may both be part of a "smoker life-style."

Nondiagnosticity and Typicality Effects in Prediction

Previous work (Nisbett, Zukier, & Lemey, 1981; Zukier, 1982) on prediction shows that nondiagnostic information may dilute the relation between a predictor and a criterion: Intuitive predictions based on a mix of diagnostic information and other valueless or nondiagnostic information are considerably less extreme than are predictions based on the diagnostic information alone. The present studies explored the prediction strategies that underlie this dilution effect. In one study, subjects predicted the guilt of a defendant in a murder trial. In a second study, subjects predicted the academic success of college students in terms of high or low grade-point averages (GPAs). In both studies, some subjects received only information about the targets that was diagnostic of an extreme outcome (e.g., information predictive of guilt or of an above-average GPA). Other subjects received the same diagnostic information, as well as other nondiagnostic information describing the target as either typical (average) or atypical (extreme) on dimensions unrelated to the outcome. There was a strong “typicality” effect, such that “typical” nondiagnostic information produced highly regressive judgments while “atypical” nondiagnostic information produced extreme judgments. The results suggest that subjects use a “pattern-matching” strategy in predictions, and that dilution is due to contrasts in typicality, rather than to nondiagnosticity as such.

A Comparison of the Effectiveness of the Small Business Institute Case Method

The perceived effectiveness of the Small Business Institute (S.B.I.) case approach to teaching business was compared to that of three traditional methods of instruction. The S.B.I. approach was judged to teach in the greatest depth, provide the best chance to use what has been learned, provide the best opportunity for individualized instruction, and require the most self-motivation. The students with the higher grade point averages believed that lecture discussion and the S.B.I. case approaches taught them the most; the students with the lower grade point averages stated that the large group lecture and traditional textbook case approaches taught them the most. The study's design permitted an investigation of the effect on the respondents' replies of whether the focus of the study on the S.B.I. case method was made explicit. Disguising the focus produced responses somewhat less favorable to the S.B.I case method.

The Influence of Individual Characteristics on Performance under Varying Conditions

Summary The relationship between individual characteristics and performance under different situational environments was investigated. The study examined the reaction of 83 male and female undergraduate students performing a complex task under exposure to varying situational conditions. Significant interaction was found between the individual characteristics and the environment in which they were asked to perform, thus providing some insight into the lack of a consistent relationship between personality characteristics and performance. Specificially, the results indicated that high n-Ach individuals performed better than low n-Ach individuals under very unfavorable situations. Additionally, under fairly favorable situations students with high grade point averages performed better than those with low grade point averages, but there were no significant differences between the two groups when the situation was very unfavorable.

Academic achievement and future time perspective as a cognitive–motivational concept.

A new approach to future time perspective (FTP) was taken by integrating FTP into cognitive theories of motivation. Valence and instrumentality measurements of 23 general motivational goals were made in a group of 251 high-school boys. Goals were classified in three time zones: near future, distant future, and open present. Results showed that students with high grade point averages (GPA) and high study persistence attached significantly higher valence to goals in the distant future and perceived studying hard as more instrumental for reaching goals in the distant future and open present, than students with low GPA and low study persistence.

Evaluation of a hierarchical mapping technique as an aid to prose processing

Seventeen college students were trained on a hierarchical mapping technique designed to facilitate prose processing. This technique required the students to transform text into node (concept)-link (relationship) networks using a set of experimenter-supplied links and structures. Following training the students used the mapping strategy in studying a 3000-word passage extracted from a geology textbook. Five days later they were given four types of tests over this article: multiple-choice, short-answer, essay, and a summary-oriented concept cloze. The treatment group's performance on these tests was compared with a control group ( N = 21) who used their normal study and test-taking techniques. A Hotelling T 2 test indicated that the treatment group significantly outperformed the control group on the dependent measures. Further analyses showed that the major differences between groups were attributable to the concept cloze and essay exams, both of which were designed to assess performance on “main ideas.” This pattern of results suggests that the strategy is valuable in assisting the student in the extraction and retention of main ideas but does not appear to affect the extraction and retention of details. Finally, 2 × 2 factorial analyses of high and low grade point average (GPA) subgroups indicated that the strategy may be more beneficial for low GPA students. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of organization theory and the encoding variability hypothesis.

Helping in College Students: Effects of Race of the Recipient and Achievement and Sex of the Donor

Advanced undergraduate students were asked to donate time to tutor freshmen on academic probation (1 ). The recipients, chatactetized in a short biography, varied in race (black and white) and locus of cause of failure (internal and external). All effects were nonsignificant with the exception of the interaction between race and locus of control; subjects who scored high on internal control donated more time to the white recipients and subjects who scored high on external control donated more time to the black recipients. The present study repeated the manipulation of the race of the recipient and explored the influence of the grade-point average (Low, M = 2.38; High, M = 3.15 ) and sex of the benefactor. The procedure was identical (1 ). The academic difficulties of the hypothetical recipient (a male) were described to be a result of external causes, that is. his difficulties were suggested to be due to family responsibilities that were competing for his time. A three-factor analysis of variance for random groups (12 subjects per group) was conducted on the time data. Effeas were nonsignificant with the exception of grade-point average (F = 4.84, df = 1/88, p < .05). Subjects with a high gradepoint average donated significantly more time (M = 9.52 hr., SD = 8.60) than subjects with a low grade-point average (M = 6.18 hr., SD = 6.10). As in a previous study (I), race was a nonsignificant effect (white, M = 8.14, SD = 8.24; black, M = 7.56, SD = 6.98). The literature on the effect of the sex of the benefactor has been mixed (2, 3), as most investigators have not found effects; when effects were reported, more favored females than males. The absence of such an effea (male, M = 6.73, SD = 5.02; female, M = 8.96, SD = 9.44) in the present research is consistent with most of the literature. Research on the influence of achievement appears thus far to have been omitted in studies of altruism. The present data suggest that high achievers, as defined by grade-point average, were more altruistic than low achievers. An explanation might simply be that successful students had greater confidence than inferior students in their ability to help those who were experiencing academic difficulties; consequently, they were more inclined to offer help.

An Analysis of a Small, Closely Observed Labor Market: Starting Salaries for University of Chicago M.B.A.'s

This paper is an initial report on a continuing study of the behavior of a small but very interesting labor market-the market for new (M.B.A.) graduates of The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (UCGSB). Obviously, salaries of business executives are of substantive interest to economists. But beyond this, the data in the records of UCGSB's placement office afford a rare opportunity to study the interrelations among salary, ability, prior work experience, job location, and various employer characteristics as these appear in a very well-structured labor market. In a later paper it is hoped to compare the determinants of starting salaries for This paper analyzes differences in starting salaries of UCGSB M.B.A.'s, 1971-74. Starting salaries were regressed upon a variety of characteristics, both of M.B.A.'s and employers. The principal findings are: (i) starting salaries are positively associated with previous work experience and grade-point average; (ii) black males had higher average starting salaries, lower gradepoint averages, and more prior work experience than whites: (iii) female starting salaries were somewhat lower, owing mainly to smaller rewards for female work experience; (iv) jobs located in New York City paid higher than elsewhere, and jobs located outside the U.S. paid less; (v) accounting firms paid less, and consulting firms paid more, than others in the same location. * An empirical study of this kind always involves the work of many individuals in addition to its director-reporter. This is no exception. My research assistant, Michael Bradley, literally created the data base upon which this paper rests; he copied the numbers, coded, and keypunched them. In the early stages of this work he was assisted by John Bloom. In addition to creating the data set, Bradley also did all of the computations, in the course of which he made many important suggestions about concepts and statistical procedures. This study could not even have commenced without the cooperation and support of Richard J. Thain, the director of the placement office of The University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, and of his administrative assistant, Mary Neal. Their continuing advice and encouragement have been indispensable. Many other members of the Graduate School of Business have given counsel and encouragement; Barry Plotkin and Lubos Hale have been especially helpful. Financial support was provided by a Faculty Research Grant from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and by the Charles R. Walgreen Foundation. This support is gratefully acknowledged.

Effects of Study Guides and Classroom Discussions on Students' Perceptions of Study Habits

t tests for correlated data on pre- and posttest scores on the Effective Study Test for 98 college students, exposed to study guides on effective study habits, quizzes, and class discussions, showed significant gains in effective study techniques. When the group was classified by specific traits, the freshmen, students with low grade-point averages, and those scoring low on a mental ability test did not make significant gains in all areas related to effective study habits.

Nonresponse in Survey Research as a Function of Psychological Characteristics and Time of Response

THERE IS a general presumption in survey research that those responding to a survey instru ment differ from nonrespondents on variables such as sex, intelligence and personality. The matter, however, appears to be the subject of little investi gation. Bennett and Hill (1) reported in a study of college graduates no personality differences between groups of respondents and nonrespondents in the psy chological characteristics as measured by the Cali fornia Personality Inventory. They did find, how ever, that the nonrespondent earned a lower grade point average while in college. Thistlethwaite and Wheeler (3) reported that high aptitude students tended to respond more frequently than low aptitude students, women responded more frequently than men, and like Bennett and Hill (1) they found that those with lower grade-point aver ages were less likely to respond. Ringo (2) has al so reported that nonrespondents earned lower grade point averages than respondents.