The Prediction Of Grade Point Average As An Indicator Of Persistence In The First Year Of College For Student Athletes

The purpose of this study was three-fold. The first purpose was to examine if there was a difference in the academic success of 239 first-year student-athletes between the type of institution they attended, public or private. These student-athletes represented 12 intercollegiate varsity sports at two NCAA Division I institutions in the Midwest during the 2007-2009 academic years, and the study used the five pre-college predictor variables of NCAA GPA, standardized test scores, gender, race, and institution type. The second purpose was to determine which of these predictor variables were statistically significant in predicting academic success of student-athletes by sport. The third purpose was to predict how well these predictor variables could distinguish between student-athletes attending the public institution and student-athletes attending the private institution. The study found that student-athletes at the private institution entered the institution with a better overall academic profile than did the student-athletes at the public institution as related to the predictor variables of high school GPA, NCAA GPA, ACT scores, SAT scores, and first-year college cumulative GPA. The statistically significant relationships between the predictors variables correlated between r = .94 and r = .17. Several stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted to predict first-year academic success. The study concluded that, when ACT and SAT scores are included, separately, in the model with the predictor variables, then NCAA GPA, ACT scores, gender, and race are statistically significant predictors for student-athletes attending the public institution, while NCAA GPA and ACT scores are statistically significant predictors for student-athletes attending the private institution. NCAA GPA, SAT scores, and gender are statistically significant predictors for student-athletes attending the public institution, and NCAA GPA and SAT scores are statistically significant predictors for student-athletes attending the private institution. Together, these findings suggest that Non-White female student-athletes are predicted to have a higher first-year cumulative GPA than any other student-athlete at the public institution when ACT scores are added to the model, and female student-athletes are predicted to have a higher first-year cumulative GPA than any other student-athlete when SAT scores are added to the model. A stepwise discriminant analysis was conducted to predict how well the predictor variables distinguish between the public and private institutions. Based on the findings, NCAA GPA, standardized test scores, and race are the statistically significant variables in the model. Overall, 66.9% of the student-athletes in the study were classified correctly into public and private institution. The student-athletes attending the public institution were classified with slightly better accuracy (67.9%) than the student-athletes attending the private institution (66.2%).

The purpose of this research was to explore a range of predictor variables believed to influence the academic success of student-athletes as measured by cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) and academic progress rates (APR). This study included 210 scholarship student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) limited-resource institution. Multiple regression analysis found standardized test scores (Test), high school core grade point averages (HSGPA), the Will composite scale of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, 2nd Edition (LASSI-II), gender, and generational status (i.e. first-generation or non-first-generation) to be most predictive of student-athlete cumulative grade point averages (CGPA). Independent t-tests were conducted on all predictor variables in the study and found significant differences between males and females on the variables of HSGPA, Test, and CGPA with female student-athletes scoring higher on all of these measures. Significant differences were also found between first-generation and non-first-generation student-athletes on variables of HSGPA, Test, Skill, Will, and CGPA with non-first-generation student-athletes scoring higher on all of these measures. Student-athletes participating in non-revenue sports had significantly higher scores on the HSGPA, Test, and CGPA variables. Logistic regression analyses using found standardized test scores to be the only predictor variable in this study to consistently contribute to the prediction of APR point loss.

This study compares the predictive validity of the Office of University Admission's model to predict first year grade point average for student athletes at the University of Missouri. In a majority of the cases, it was found that student athletes had higher first year grade point averages than the campus prediction. Based on these findings, the researcher used a stepwise multiple regression to identify variables that account for a significant portion of the variance in first year grade point average for student athletes. The research was able to identify a significant model including three variables that explained 50% of the total variance in first year GPA. High school GPA (42%), ACT composite (5%), and aid status (2.5%) were significant predictors of first year academic performance for student athletes at the University of Missouri.

Colleges and universities continue to be held to accountability measures typically related to student graduation rates. Intercollegiate athletic programs are not immune to such accountability measures. For instance, in recent years the National Collegiate Athletic Association adopted the Academic Progress Rate, which holds institutions accountable for the graduation, retention, and eligibility status of its student-athletes. It is the moral obligation of intercollegiate administrators to ensure student-athletes are receiving a quality education culminating in graduation. The recent climate of higher education makes it critical to examine the variables which influence graduation and retention of student-athletes. This study examined student-athletes who entered the University of Texas at El Paso from 1998 to 2001. Using logistic regression analyses, pre-college, demographic, and college variables were investigated to determine which variables influence student-athlete graduation and retention. The independent variables used were: high school core grade point average, scholastic aptitude test score, high school class percentile, ethnicity, gender, parent income level, first semester college grade point average, first year college grade point average, scholarship status, eligibility status, and sport played. Results of the study show, when compared to all other variables, the two most significant variables that predict student-athlete graduation and retention are eligibility status and first-semester grade point average.