Variance In Grade Point Average Research Articles

The HEXACO personality traits as predictors of Chinese undergraduates' academic performance

To verify the association between personality traits and academic performance in a university setting, we collected the grade point average (GPA) and six personality characteristics (honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) of 349 students at a university in China. According to the results, there were positive associations between GPA and honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Additionally, honesty–humility, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience explained 30.72% of the variance in GPA. On the basis of the above findings, two conclusions can be made: First, undergraduates' GPA is associated with these six personality traits; second, undergraduates' honesty–humility, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience may help to explain the variance in their GPA.

Emotional Intelligence, Academic Motivation, and Achievement among Health Science Students in Saudi Arabia: A Self-Deterministic Approach.

This study used a self-deterministic approach to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), academic motivation (AM), and achievement among health science students. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three cities of Saudi Arabia (Dammam, Riyadh, and Jeddah). A convenience sample of 450 students was incorporated using the multistage cluster sampling technique. The online survey contained three sections: students' basic data and academic achievement level, the modified Schutte self-report inventory, and the Academic Motivation Scale lowercase. This study revealed moderate overall scores for EI (57.1%), AM (55.6%), and grade point average (GPA) (57.6%). The overall EI score, its domains, and GPA had significant positive correlations with overall AM and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (p < .01). Amotivation had an insignificant correlation with GPA (p < .05), but it was negatively correlated with EI and its domains (p < .01). Multiple regression analysis proved that EI domains predicted 5.0% of GPA variance; emotions appraisal and expression (β = .02, p = .024), regulation (β = .11, p = .032), and utilization (β = .24, p < .01). EI domains also predicted 26.0% of AM variance; emotions appraisal and expression (β = .11, p = .04), regulation (β = .33, p < .01), and utilization (β = .23, p <.01). Moreover, AM predicted 4.0% of the variance in GPA; intrinsic (β = .25, p = .004) and extrinsic (β = .11, p = .022) motivation. AM also predicted 25.0% of the variance in EI: intrinsic (β = .34, p < .01) and extrinsic motivation (β = .26, p = .026). EI and AM have a bidirectional influence on each other, significantly shaping the GPA of health sciences students in Saudi Arabia, where intrinsic motivation has a predominant role. Thus, promoting students' AM and EI is recommended to foster their academic achievement.

The Relationship Between Depth of Academic English Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Success of Second Language University Students

This study investigates the relationship between depth of academic vocabulary knowledge and academic success among Saudi English-as-a-foreign-language university students. Fifty fourth-year university students majoring in English completed a vocabulary depth test, the Word Associates Test (WAT), based on the Academic Word List (AWL). Then, students’ grade point averages (GPAs) were obtained as a measure of academic success. Furthermore, a vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) questionnaire was administered to explore the students’ use of various VLSs. In addition, two focus group discussions were conducted to elicit participants’ views and experiences of English vocabulary learning. The scores on the WAT were positively correlated ( r = .407, p &lt; .01) with GPA. Results of the regression analysis show that the WAT scores accounted for 16.6% of the variance in GPA. Analysis of the data on VLSs reveals that the participants were medium-level VLS users who employed metacognitive strategies most frequently. Strategies that involve focused intentional vocabulary learning, such as learning from word cards and wordlists, were reported to be used the least. Results of the present depth study support previous findings of vocabulary breadth studies on the high predictive power of academic vocabulary knowledge in relation to academic success. Implications of the results for academic vocabulary teaching and learning are considered.

Integrating self-regulated learning and individual differences in the prediction of university academic achievement across a three-year-long degree

The study investigated the joint contribution of the self-regulated learning (SRL) and individual differences approaches to the prediction of university students’ grade point average (GPA) obtained at three separate time points throughout their degree (3 years). We assessed cognitive (i.e., previous academic performance, cognitive ability, and cognitive SRL strategies) and non-cognitive variables (i.e., personality, trait emotional intelligence, motivation, and non-cognitive SRL strategies) in a sample of Spanish undergraduates. Results showed that GPA correlated with previous academic performance (i.e., combination of high school’s GPA and college admission test score), academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, SRL strategies, and conscientiousness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that non-cognitive factors (i.e., academic engagement, academic self-efficacy, regulation of behavior and context, and conscientiousness) alone explained 17–25% of the variance in GPA across three years, and previous academic performance accounted up to an additional 25% of the variance, jointly reaching an explained variance of up to 50% in GPA. Specifically, academic engagement and regulation of behavior and context demonstrated incremental validity over and above cognitive predictors such as previous academic performance, inductive reasoning and regulation of cognition and metacognition. The role of intelligence, whether cognitive or emotional, was not as obvious as a predictor. Two nested structural equation models explained about 27–29% of the variance in a latent GPA factor exclusively from a proxy of a global variable of non-cognitive factors as a latent predictor, which is a novel and promising proof of its robust criterion validity. Implications and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

Vocabulary knowledge and academic achievement revisited: General and academic vocabulary as determinant factors

It is uncontroversial to suggest that in order to be successful in academic study through the medium of English as a Foreign Lanuage, a learner will need a large general vocabulary and knowledge of academically relevant vocabulary, and the latter usually means knowledge of Coxhead’s influential Academic Word List (AWL). However, a large general vocabulary is likely to include all or most words from the AWL, so the contribution of knowledge of the AWL specifically to academic success is unclear. This article reports a study where the impact of word frequency in the test of the AWL is controlled, so the separate effects on grade point average (GPA) of AWL knowledge and general vocabulary size can be better understood. To this end, 61 native Arabic- speaking learners of EFL took a test of AWL and a test of general vocabulary size, and their GPAs were collected. Results indicate that general vocabulary size explains nearly 47% of the variance in GPA and that knowledge of the AWL adds an additional 11.5 % to the explanation of the variance. The discussion addresses the varying importance of general and academic vocabulary to academic success.

The effect of mindfulness based psychoeducation program on adolescents’ character strengths, mindfulness and academic achievement

The research was conducted to prepare a mindfulness-based psychoeducation program for adolescents and to test the effect of the program on character strengths, mindfulness levels, and academic achievement of high school students. The study was designed as mixed-method research, and consisted of two stages. In the first stage, the relationship between mindfulness, character strengths, and academic achievement was investigated. According to the findings, 24.5% of the variance in grade point average was predicted by mindfulness and three character strengths including persistence, prudence, and openness to learning. In the second stage, a mindfulness-based psychoeducation program was developed and its effects on high school students’ perseverance, prudence, love of learning character strengths, mindfulness, and academic achievements were examined in a pretest- posttest randomized control group design. According to results, the 8-week mindfulness-based psychoeducation program increased the level of mindfulness of participants, while partially increasing their three character strengths, and academic achievement.

Academic impairment among high school students with ADHD: The role of motivation and goal-directed executive functions

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with academic failure in high school; however the underpinnings of these difficulties are insufficiently understood. This study examined deficits in self-regulated learning in a sample of high school students with ADHD (n = 32) compared to demographically similar classmates without ADHD (n = 18). A multimethod battery of self and parent rating scales and cognitive tasks measured aspects of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and goal-directed executive functions. A multiple regression modeled predictors of current Grade Point Average (GPA). Results indicated that high school students with ADHD placed lower value on academics (d = .99), were less likely to use goal-setting strategies (d = .95), possessed lower levels of metacognition (d = 1.86), and showed significant deficits in task-based cognitive flexibility (d = .80). After controlling for covariates, the set of self-regulated learning variables explained 23% of the variance in GPA, with metacognition (6% of variance explained) and cognitive flexibility (7% of variance explained) serving as significant predictors of outcome. Findings suggest that higher-order executive function deficits play a critical role in the academic functioning of high school students and students with ADHD show large deficits in these areas. Thus, interventions that target metacognition and cognitive flexibility (i.e., the ability to think through decisions before acting, inhibit automatic responses, and make effective decisions for a desired goal) may be particularly promising to remediate ADHD-related academic problems in high school.

Longitudinal Examination of Relations between School- and Home-Based Parent Involvement and GPA across Ethnic Groups

The transition to adolescence is associated with decreases in student achievement. One factor that may mitigate these decreases is parent involvement. The present study examined whether ethnicity, type of involvement (school-based involvement [SBI] vs. home-based involvement [HBI]), and their interaction predicted GPA. This study, using data from the High School Longitudinal Study, examined whether type of involvement (SBI vs. HBI) and ethnicity predicted adolescents’ grade point average (GPA). Employing random coefficient growth curve modelling, we examined whether time, ethnicity, and SBI and HBI at grade 9 predicted adolescents’ levels of GPA from grade 9 to 12. The initial effect of time (from grade 9 to grade 10) was significant, with GPA declining across ethnic groups. The initial decline attenuated from grades 10 to 12. With the exception of Asian Americans, SBI was significantly positively associated with GPA. Over and above SBI, HBI was consistently positively associated with subsequent GPA across ethnic groups. These associations of SBI and HBI with GPA persisted across time. The findings are consistent with past research, although that research did not examine HBI and SBI simultaneously, high school students specifically, and GPA over time. The non-significant association of GPA with SBI for Asian Americans may be due to different peer processes and beliefs about education. Because HBI has similar associations across groups, and because it predicts unique variance in GPA over and above SBI, it may be important for parents of high schoolers to pursue, regardless of ethnicity.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND ADMISSION EXAM SCORES WITH FIRST SEMESTER GRADE POINT AVERAGE IN TWO COHORTS OF FIRST YEAR NURSING STUDENTS

Background: As nursing programs in Indonesia admit students, it is important that student factors are identified that provide information about necessary resources that are needed to support the student, both academically and psychosocially, to succeed in the nursing program. Obejctive: The purpose of this study was to use regression analysis to analyze admission and academic data of two cohorts of nursing students to know what relationship that information has with first semester grade point average (GPA). Methods: A descriptive correlation design was used. In a previous study with one cohort of nursing students, the researcher found that the variables accounted for only 28% of the variance. This research added the variable of age, increased the categories for region of origin from five to seven, increased the categories for type of high school from three to four, and analyzed the data from two cohorts. Data from 947 students were included for analysis. Mulivariate linear regression was used to analyze the variables of city of origin, attendance at pre-nursing course, gender, age, type of high school, and admission exam scores to determine the relationship, if any, between the first semester GPA of nursing students in a large university in an urban area of Indonesia. Results: A significant relationship (p&lt;.05) was found between experience factors, attribute factors, and academic metric factors and first semester GPA. For students admitted in 2016, the study variables accounted for 30% of the variance in GPA; for students admitted in 2017, the study variables accounted for 37% of the variance in GPA. Conclusion: It is important that student factors are identified that provide information about succeeding in the nursing program, both academically and psychosocially. Additional research is needed to identify other admission factors and any factors in the first semester that may also have a relationship with GPA.

Nurse anesthesia student’s personality characteristics and academic performance: A big five personality model perspective

Purpose: The purpose of this correlational research was to assess the association between the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits and the grade point average (GPA) of students enrolled in a nurse anesthesia program (NAP). This research was conducted to identify a more objective way to evaluate a prospective students’ personality that correlates with academic success in a NAP.Methods: The Program Directors of students enrolled in NAPs throughout the United States were randomly contacted to assist with the data collection. The FFM of personality traits inventory and question requesting the student to self-report their GPA were then forwarded to the student.Results: Upon completion, the data was analyzed using SPSS 22.0. The results demonstrated a significant correlation, indicating that the dimensions of personality were significantly related to GPA. The dimensions of personality accounted for 12% of the variance in GPA. An examination of individual regression coefficients revealed that the personality trait, conscientiousness, was significantly and positively related to GPA.Conclusions: Nurse anesthesia admission committees can use this personality inventory to better guide them in selecting candidates for their program. Used in conjunction with the more traditional admissions criteria; NAPs can be better positioned to select students more objectively that will be successful in their program, hence leading to lower attrition rates.

Separate contributions of general intelligence and right prefrontal neurocognitive functions to academic achievement at university level

Abstract It is hypothesized that performance on frontal-lobe neuropsychological tests and intelligence tests may independently contribute to variation in academic achievement in higher education. We examined the ability of an IQ test (the WAIS-IV) to predict grade point averages (GPA) in a sample of 64 undergraduate students. We also included a battery of five neuropsychological assessments of frontal-lobe functions, all known to be unrelated to general intelligence and linked to right-prefrontal function. Regression analysis with stepwise entry of variables revealed separate contributions to the variation in GPA scores explained by general intelligence and two different measures of response inhibition (Stop-signal and Hayling). The addition of the inhibition measures more than doubled the amount of variance in GPA explained by general intelligence alone, from adjusted R2=.115 to adjusted R2=.239, suggesting an important role of right prefrontal-mediated response inhibition in high-level academic achievement. This contrasts with the mainly left-hemisphere contribution from general intelligence.

Choosing between what you want now and what you want most: Self-control explains academic achievement beyond cognitive ability

Achieving a university degree is a demanding long-term goal, and students often show varying levels of academic achievement despite similar intellectual abilities. In order to help students, researchers thereby need to understand the origins of these individual differences. However, it remains unclear whether self-control is important for students' academic achievement beyond their general cognitive ability. To answer this question, N=150 German university students completed a measure of general cognitive ability as well as a German translation of the Brief Self-Control Scale. Grade point average (GPA) served as an objective indicator of academic achievement, complemented by personal ratings as a measure of subjective academic achievement (SAA). Both cognitive ability and self-control explained substantial amounts of variance in GPA; however, only self-control accounted for variance in SAA. The study's key finding was that self-control indeed contributed to explaining GPA and SAA, even when cognitive ability was controlled for. On the basis of these results, we argue that self-control holds important explanatory value for both objective and subjective academic achievement, and we discuss the results' practical relevance with regard to student success at university.

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, LEARNING GOALS, ENGAGEMENT, AND ACHIEVEMENT IN A DIVERSE HIGH SCHOOL

Using structural equation models, with gender, parent education, and prior grade point average (GPA) as control variables, we examined the relationships among intrinsic motivation to learn, learning goals, behavioral engagement at school, and academic performance (measured by GPA) in 1,575 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Intrinsic motivation to learn was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via classroom engagement. Seventy‐five percent of the variance in engagement and 33% of the variance in GPA were explained by variables in the study. Results were generally replicated when the model was tested separately with the 336 African American students and the 311 Latin@ students. The significant indirect effect of intrinsic motivation to learn on GPA via engagement, as well as the positive direct association between learning goals and academic performance, suggest that students will benefit from schools fostering intrinsic motivation to learn and learning goals.

Predicting academic success and technological literacy in secondary education: a learning styles perspective

This paper aims to investigate the predictive validity of learning styles on academic achievement and technological literacy (TL). For this purpose, secondary school students were recruited (n = 150). An empirical research design was followed where the TL test was used with a learning style inventory measuring learning orientation, processing information, thinking, perceiving information, physical and time learning preferences, and sociological, emotional, and environmental learning preferences. Student performance was measured with grade point average (GPA) and TL level. Results show that 69 and 65 % of the variance in GPA and TL, respectively, can be explained by learning style predictors. Responsible and visual learning styles are the best positive predictors of GPA, while a reflective learner is the best negative predictor. Self-motivated and global learners are the best positive predictors of TL, while the need for authority figures and a theorist learning orientation are the best negative predictors of TL. The practical implications are that secondary schools should collect learning style data before helping students accordingly to be successful and more technologically literate. Highly conforming, global, and visual theorists might be offered more challenging tasks and special commendations on their projects, whereas more reflective and kinaesthetic students could receive more unstructured instruction in a busy environment with learning objects that incorporate innovative experiences, personalised information, and many associations. Assimilators need more textual material, more criterion-referenced instructions to achieve higher-order thinking learning objectives, more time to complete activities or assignments, more abstract problems, and unconstrained design conditions to improve their TL.

Predicting academic success in higher education: what’s more important than being smart?

This study investigated the combined predictive validity of intelligence and personality factors on multiple measures of academic achievement. Students in a college of higher education in the Netherlands (N = 137) completed a survey that measured intelligence, the Big Five personality traits, motivation, and four specific personality traits. Student performance was measured with grade point average (GPA) and time to graduation, as well as with five specific performance measures: regular exams, skills training, team projects, internships, and a written thesis. Results show that 33% of the variance in GPA and 30% of the variance in time to graduation can be explained by combining intelligence, personality, and motivational predictors. Conscientiousness is the best predictor across a broad spectrum of academic achievement measures and explains five times as much variance in GPA as does intelligence. The practical implications are that institutes of higher education should collect personality data on students at the outset and then help students accordingly. Highly conscientious students who are organized and internally motivated might potentially be offered more challenging honours programs with corresponding special commendations on their diplomas, whereas students who score low on conscientious would receive more structure through student study groups, frequent deadlines, shorter assignments, group assignments, clearly defined learning goals, and less second chances for passing examinations.

Complex problem solving — More than reasoning?

This study investigates the internal structure and construct validity of Complex Problem Solving (CPS), which is measured by a Multiple-Item-Approach. It is tested, if (a) three facets of CPS – rule identification (adequateness of strategies), rule knowledge (generated knowledge) and rule application (ability to control a system) – can be empirically distinguished, how (b) reasoning is related to these CPS-facets and if (c) CPS shows incremental validity in predicting school grade point average (GPA) beyond reasoning. N=222 university students completed MicroDYN, a computer-based CPS test and Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices. Analysis including structural equation models showed that a 2-dimensionsal model of CPS including rule knowledge and rule application fitted the data best. Furthermore, reasoning predicted performance in rule application only indirectly through its influence on rule knowledge indicating that learning during system exploration is a prerequisite for controlling a system successfully. Finally, CPS explained variance in GPA even beyond reasoning, showing incremental validity of CPS. Thus, CPS measures important aspects of academic performance not assessed by reasoning and should be considered when predicting real life criteria such as GPA.

The use of selective admissions tools to predict students’ success in an advanced standing baccalaureate nursing program

The judicious selection of nursing school applicants is important, and universities are increasingly incorporating non-academic criteria into their admission processes. We undertook a retrospective, correlational study of the predictive utility of an admissions process for nursing students' "in-program" success. The sample consisted of all 249 students admitted to a Canadian accelerated baccalaureate nursing program over a four-year study period. The students' arithmetic mean grade for six nursing courses (both theoretical and clinical) and their final grade point average (GPA) at graduation were the outcome measures of student success. The predictor variables included the applicants' demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, ethnic minority status, and previous educational attainment), their supplemental application materials and interview scores (assessing non-academic criteria), and their admission GPA. Linear regression was conducted on the outcome measures to determine whether the selection tools added information over that obtained through the use of admission GPA in predicting success. Although their admission GPAs were consistently predictive of the students' success, neither the supplemental application nor the interview scores had predictive utility. The variables consistently predictive of student success were age, ethnic minority status, and admission GPA, accounting for 26% of the variance in the selected nursing grades and 36% of the variance in GPA at graduation. The results provided little evidence to justify using the selective admissions tools.

Academic success in adolescence: Relationships among verbal IQ, social support and emotional intelligence

The objective of this study was to examine, by gender, whether emotional intelligence (EI), peer social support, and/or family social support partially mediated the influence of verbal IQ on Grade 10 grade point average (GPA) for 192 students (96 male, 96 female). For male students, EI and peer social support predicted GPA and EI mediated the association between verbal IQ and GPA. For female students, EI, peer social support, and family support predicted GPA but did not mediate the association between verbal IQ and GPA. This study further examined whether subscales of EI (intrapersonal, interpersonal, adaptability, and stress management abilities), peer social support and family social support (emotional, socialising, practical, financial, and advice) added to the prediction of GPA after verbal IQ, gender, and socioeconomic status were controlled. Adaptability, stress management and practical family social support each added to the explanation of variability. None of the peer social support subscales predicted additional variance in GPA.

The Graduate Record Examination: Help or Hindrance in Nursing Graduate School Admissions?

Do graduate record examination (GRE) scores serve as strong predictors of student success in graduate school in nursing, and if so, is the extent to which they may indicate success outweighed by their perceived role as a barrier to application to graduate school in nursing? Academic ability, defined as cumulative grade point average (GPA), was used as the outcome indicator for success in graduate school and was compared with admission GRE scores for 217 students admitted to graduate programs at the University of Washington School of Nursing over a 1-year period. The GRE presented a large barrier to application that far outweighed the limited benefit of predicting 5% to 8% of explained variance in GPA.

Trait Emotional Intelligence, the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Academic Success in Physical Education Teacher Candidates

The predictive ability of the Big Five personality traits and trait emotional intelligence (EI) of physical education (PE) teacher candidates' academic success was examined. A total of 295 PE teacher candidates aged 23 to 32 completed the Short Form Five Factor Personality Inventory (Tatar, 2005) and the revised and adapted Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al., 1998) at the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year. At the year's end, participants' grade point averages (GPAs) were matched to their trait EI and personality scores. Pearson product-moment correlations and hierarchical regression were used to analyze data. Academic success as GPA was found to be positively related with Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness and negatively related with Neuroticism. Additionally, a regression model consisting of the Big Five personality traits could predict a significant amount of variance in GPA. However, no association was identified between trait EI as measured by the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale and GPA. Trait EI also did not make any significant contribution to the predictive ability of the Big Five personality traits.