Relating Non-Cognitive Characteristics to Performance on The ACT®: An Application of Sparsely Clustered Data Methods

• In Event: 75.023 - Validity: Methods and Applications

Abstract

This study examines the contributions of students’ non-cognitive characteristics for explaining their performance on the ACT® College Readiness Assessment over and above traditional predictors such as high school grade point average (HSGPA), coursework, and school characteristics. The sample consists of 6,440 high school seniors who took the ACT in the fall of 2012 and completed an online questionnaire about various non-cognitive characteristics. Using a blockwise regression model with cluster-robust standard errors, the results show that non-cognitive factors explain between 4% and 7% of the variance in ACT scores above and beyond what is accounted for by traditional predictors. Study results provide context for academic measures of college readiness.

Authors

• Daniel McNeish, University of Maryland

• Justine Radunzel, ACT, Inc.

• Edgar I. Sanchez, ACT, Inc.