Predicting Student Degree Completion With ACTC Score and HSGPA: Mediated by First-Year College GPA (Poster 42)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 8:00 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Bridging Gaps: Innovative Programs and Practices for Diverse Student Populations

Abstract

Past research has largely focused on pre-college achievement measures like ACTC and HSGPA’s utility as predictors of early college success (e.g., predicting first-year GPA). Recently there has been greater demand for work predicting long-term outcomes. The current project expands on such work by examining the role of FYGPA as a mediator of the effect of HSGPA and ACTC on graduation by four and six years after college entry. We find that both HSGPA and ACT are direct predictors of likelihood of degree completion by years four and six and that FYGPA is a significant mediator of this relationship. Further exploration also shows that ACTC and HSGPA are significant predictors of degree outcomes above and beyond FYGPA and several demographic variables.

Authors

• Riley N. Loria, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Edgar I. Sanchez, ACT, Inc.