High School Grades and Achievement: Evidence of Grade Inflation

Ziomek, Robert L.; Svec, Joseph C.

doi:10.1177/019263659708158716

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The widespread prevalence of grade inflation, which can reduce the usefulness of high school grade point average (HSGPA) in discriminating among college applicants, has been well documented (Camara, Kimmel, Scheuneman, & Sawtell, 2003;Woodruff & Ziomek, 2004;Ziomek & Svec, 1995). In a recent study of college freshmen from 32 institutions across the United States, Shaw and Mattern (2009) found that 63% students had HSGPAs at or above an A minus, with a mean of 3.58.…”

Section: Grade Inflationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity

Mattern

Shaw

Kobrin

2011

Educational and Psychological Measurement

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This study examined discrepant high school grade point average (HSGPA) and SAT performance as measured by the difference between a student's standardized SAT composite score and standardized HSGPA. The SAT-HSGPA discrepancy measure was used to examine whether certain students are more likely to exhibit discrepant performance and in what direction. Additionally, the relationship between the SAT-HSGPA discrepancy measure and other academic indicators was examined. Finally, the relationship between the SAT-HSGPA discrepancy measure and the error term of three admission models (HSGPA only, SAT score only, and HSGPA and SAT scores) was examined. Results indicated that females, minority, low socioeconomic status, and nonnative English speakers were more likely to have higher HSGPAs relative to their SAT scores. Furthermore, using only HSGPA for admission overpredicted college performance for those students who had higher HSGPA as compared with SAT scores and underpredicted college performance for students with higher SAT scores as compared with HSGPA. The results underscore the utility of using both HSGPA and test scores for admission decisions.College admission decisions are based on multiple pieces of information. Students are typically asked to submit high school transcript information, letters of recommendation, test scores, documentation of extracurricular activities, an essay, and other items, for

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Section: Grade Inflationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity

Mattern

Shaw

Kobrin

2011

Educational and Psychological Measurement

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“…Data from the College Board show that the percentage of students who had an A average (Aþ, A, AÀ ) has increased from 28% to 37%, with no corresponding increase in postsecondary achievement (Rigol & Kimmel, 1997). Ziomek and Svec (1995) also reported that high academic achievers were particularly likely to receive inflated grades in high school. Rojstaczer (2003) reported that the mean GPA in higher education nationally had risen from 2.94 in 1991-92 to 3.09 in 2001-02, based on a 4-point system.…”

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confidence: 98%

Employing Noncognitive Variables in Admitting and Advising Community College Students

Noonan

Sedlacek

Veerasamy

2005

Community College Journal of Research and Practice

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As community colleges have more applicants, more programs have turned to selective admissions. Additionally, good postmatriculation advising requires more useful assessments than have been possible employing such measures as prior grade-point average (GPA). A variety of problems have been identified in relying on GPA. A series of noncognitive variables, as measured by the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), were included in a study of 263 community college students in health sciences programs at a western community college. NCQ scores were related to college grades using Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Results showed modest but statistically significant relationships with community college grades. The NCQ scales of Community, Leadership and Strong Support Person contributed most to multiple-regression equations predicting college grades. NCQ scales tended to correlate highest with early and late community college grades. While students in the study had mean NCQ scores similar to normative samples, they tended to be lowest on Community,

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“…It has been argued that certain groups are disadvantaged by standardized test scores (Jencks & Phillips, 1998;Lawlor, Richman, & Richman, 1997;Sackett, Schmitt, Ellingson, & Kabin, 2001;Wing, 1980;Zwick, 1999). Further, high school grades do not take into account significant differences across schools in expectation and performance (Bassiri & Schulz, 2003;"In Praise of Aptitude Tests," 2005;Tam & Sukhatme, 2003) nor high school grade inflation (Ziomek & Svec, 1995). To date, standardized tests have been demonstrated as valid methods for predicting college outcomes (ACT, 1997;Willingham, Lewis, Morgan, & Ramist, 1990); however, there is general agreement that these should be augmented by the assessment of other relevant attributes (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the differential effects of motivational and skills, social, and self-management measures from traditional predictors of college outcomes.

Robbins

Allen

Casillas

et al. 2006

Journal of Educational Psychology

248

283

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The authors report on a large-scale study examining the effects of self-reported psychosocial factors on 1st-year college outcomes. Using a sample of 14,464 students from 48 institutions, the authors constructed hierarchical regression models to measure the predictive validity of the Student Readiness Inventory, a measure of psychosocial factors. Controlling for institutional effects and traditional predictors, the authors tested the effects of motivational and skill, social, and self-management measures on academic performance and retention. Academic Discipline was incrementally predictive of academic performance (grade-point average) and retention. Social Activity and Emotional Control also helped predict academic performance and retention, whereas Commitment to College and Social Connection offered incremental prediction of retention. This study elaborates recent meta-analytic findings (S. Robbins et al., 2004), demonstrating the salience of a subset of motivational, social, and self-management factors. Future research questions include how measures of psychosocial factors can be used to aid students, the salience of these measures over the entire college experience and for predicting job performance, and the need for testing theoretical models for explaining postsecondary educational outcomes incorporating traditional, motivational, self-management, and social engagement factors.With the scheduled revamping of the Higher Education Act, the accountability of postsecondary institutions for student academic performance and dropout has received much attention in professional reports as well as popular and research literatures (is concern that college students are ill prepared to meet the hurdles they face upon entry into college. To counter these problems, researchers have suggested the tying of federal (Stedman, 2003) and state (Hearn & Holdsworth, 2002) funding to outcomes of higher education.In practice, prediction of college success has largely centered on high-stakes testing. In many 4-year colleges and universities, there are many more applicants than spots, and high school academic performance and standardized achievement test scores are heavily weighted in admission decisions. A significant debate is occurring over how these indicators should be used. It has been argued that certain groups are disadvantaged by standardized test scores

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High School Grades and Achievement: Evidence of Grade Inflation

Cited by 26 publications

References 6 publications

An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity

An Alternative Presentation of Incremental Validity

Employing Noncognitive Variables in Admitting and Advising Community College Students

Unraveling the differential effects of motivational and skills, social, and self-management measures from traditional predictors of college outcomes.

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