Point Average; Higher Education

(Statistical) This case study revisited the admissions index (400 x high school grade point average plus total Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score) used by a private, Catholic, western university by measuring the correlations between high school GPA and SAT scores with the second term GPA to determine the weight of each variable in the index. Data came from 6 cohorts of recent freshmen, totaling 4,871 students. High school GPA turns out to be the best predictor for first-year academic achievement. The weight ratio of high school GPA and SAT is 1.65. Adding more weight to high school GPA is necessary to increase quality, chances of success, and selectivity. Further correlation analysis between second-term GPA and degree GPA presents a high correlation (r=0.811), which supports the use of second-term GPA for currently enrolled students to predict their academic success. However, different ethnic groups and gender groups also present different weights of predictors. It may change freshman class ethnic composition if ethnic and gender factors are not carefully considered in increasing the weight of high school GPA. (Auhor/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1Measuring the Weight of High School GPA and SAT Scores with Second Term GPA t