1984/03/01 by Orlyn P. Edge, Stephen H. Friedberg
Social Sciences · Mathematics · #School Choice and Performance #Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
paper · doi:10.1080/00220973.1984.11011882
AbstractThree groups of students at Illinois State University (of respective sizes 235, 157, and 397) were used as subjects to determine which factors were significant predictors of success in the first course in calculus. The second and third groups were used to provide replications of the initial study. Academic independent variables considered were: ACT scores, high school rank, high school GPA, high school algebra grades, and the score from an algebra pretest. Biographical independent variables considered were: sex, birth order, family size, and high school size. The dependent variable was a function of the student's course grade in the first semester of calculus. The use of stepwise and all-subsets regression procedures on the three groups revealed in each case that the best combination of predictors consisted of the algebra pretest and high school rank. From this result, the investigators concluded that the combination of algebraic skills, as represented by the score on the algebra pretest, and long-term perseverence and competitiveness, as measured by high school rank, play a significant role in the prediction of achievement in the first semester of calculus.