Secondary school science predictors of academic performance in university bioscience subjects

Abstract

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from approximately 50 to 99 in Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) scores. Under the previous structure, students in different courses completed a variety of different subjects at first year. Concern about the ability of such disparate groups to complete a common first year led to the current investigation of the relationships between year 12 (final year of secondary school) science subjects and performance in first year university bioscience subjects. Year 12 results for all science-related units and ENTER scores were obtained for all Victorian students enrolling in a first year course in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2005 and 2006. Regression and other analyses were conducted for five first year bioscience subjects. The ENTER score was the best predictor of academic performance in all units except regional anatomy. Performance in many secondary school science subjects was highly predictive of performance in physiology, combined systematic physiology and anatomy and biomechanics units, but again not for regional anatomy units. It appears that year 12 performance in science subjects and ENTER scores may be important predictors of success in physiology, but not regional anatomy subjects at university. It is possible that regional anatomy is an entirely new subject area that requires new types of learning unrelated to year 12 science subjects.

Predicting Academic Success of Health Science Students for First Year Anatomy and Physiology

“…While a previous background in physics or chemistry would not be intuitive in an anatomy and physiology unit, both predictors combined increase BMS100 grade by approximately 13%. This data supports a similar finding at La Trobe University, where high school chemistry and physics were seen to be associated with higher academic performance in several anatomy and physiology units (Green et al, 2009). The number of students entering university with higher level or intermediate mathematics, chemistry and physics is declining in Australia (Barrington, 2006;Rubinstein, 2009), which establishes an ongoing need for supporting this body of students as a collective.…”

“…Subjects studied in secondary school have previously shown to be associated with success in health science units at another Australian university (Green, Brown, & Ward, 2009). In our study, significant increases in the average BMS100 grade were observed in all three cohorts when students studied mathematics at a year 12 level.…”

“…The study of advanced science units, including anatomy, is becoming more difficult for continually larger groups of students with inadequate secondary school backgrounds (Green et al, 2009). It is worth noting that these characteristics are merely predictors, as a male student with lower writing proficiency and no science background is not predestined to perform poorly.…”

The use of team-based, guided inquiry learning to overcome educational disadvantages in learning human physiology: a structural equation model

“…In 2010 and 2011, roughly 30% of students failed first-year physiology. As has previously been reported, success in physiology is directly correlated to tertiary entrance rank (12). Since there is no senior high school science requirement for entry into the nursing degree and given the low tertiary entrance criteria, it is not surprising that large numbers of nursing students fail first-year physiology.…”

“…Indeed, feelings of incompetence and inadequate preparation are major reasons for nursing students discontinuing their nursing studies at universities (1,8). Studies have consistently shown that success in first-year undergraduate human biosciences is strongly correlated with prior experience in chemistry and biology as well as overall high school achievement (8,12,18,27,30). Thus, it is remarkable that direct entry from secondary school into Bachelor of Nursing programs do not require some form of general science prerequisite.…”