Preprint #97-26
An observational study of 392 graduate students in the Department of Statistics at Iowa State University over the period 1980-1992 is described. Various potential indicators of academic performance including undergraduate grade point average (GPA), graduate GPA (in the case that an M.S. was obtained at another institution), Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and percentile rankings assigned by those writing letters of reference, were considered. For all students in the study the current or final graduate GPA was observed.
Comparisons among groups by type of undergraduate institution, by undergraduate major, and by gender were carried out for a number of these measures. Some conclusions about differences among groups are made. An attempt was also made to determine whether time trends existed in these measures over the time period considered.
Four groups emerged from this study, which were the categories obtained by classifying students according to the criteria: (1) location of institution granting the undergraduate degree (U.S. or international) and (2) highest previous degree (B.A./B.S. or M.A./M.S.). Initial attempts are made to obtain parsimonious regression models to explain graduate GPA at ISU. The case of students with a B.A./B.S. degree from a U.S. institution is discussed in some detail.
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