Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
College freshmen; College freshmen; Prediction of scholastic success;
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if the American College Test, high school percentile rank, and the number of previously-taken courses in math and science individually, collectively, or in some combination correlate with cognitive levels of development in predicting the success of entering freshman biology majors taking either biology or biology and chemistry concurrently. Success was measured using the students' grade or grades in either biology or biology and chemistry at the end of their first semester. The subjects for this study were entering freshman biology majors at the University of Northern Iowa who ranged in age from 18 to 21. The subjects were chosen by cluster random sampling. Sixty-seven students participated in the Fall of 1989 and sixty-one students participated in the Fall of 1990. Each sample was divided into two sub-groups, those who took only biology and those who took biology and chemistry concurrently. The students were administered the Modified Classroom Test of Formal Operations to determine their level of cognitive development. The student's first semester grade in (a) biology or in (b) biology and chemistry concurrently was used as the criterion or dependent variable. The students' ACT composite scores, the number of high school math and science courses taken by each student, the students' high school percentile ranks, and the students' cognitive levels of development were the predictors or independent variables. Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Correlations between the independent variables and cognitive level were done to determine if a relationship existed between the readily available measures and the student's cognitive level. The independent variables were correlated with the student's first semester grade to determine which variables would be the best predictors of student success. The results of this study indicate that the combination of ACT composite score, number of high school math and science courses, and high school percentile rank correlate best with the cognitive level of the students and also provide the best predictors of success. An appreciable difference in success was found between the two sub-groups.
Year of Submission
1991
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Biology
First Advisor
David V. McCalley
Second Advisor
Wayne I. Anderson
Third Advisor
Roy D. Unruh
Date Original
1991
Object Description
1 PDF file (92 leaves)
Copyright
©1991 Sue Ann Smith
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Smith, Sue Ann, "Predicting Success of Entering Freshman Biology Majors Taking either Biology or Biology and Chemistry" (1991). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2177.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2177
Comments
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