Community College Completion: The Predictive Relationship between Placement Scores and Graduation
Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This predictive correlative study was designed to investigate the relationship between the entry placement-test scores of community college students as measured by the ACT® COMPASS® placement exams and the students’ successful completion of a degree or certificate program at a technical (community) college in South Carolina. The study was of importance, for it was designed to determine if ACT® COMPASS® placement test scores can predict graduation from a degree or certificate program in the subject college’s programs of study. The study will utilize archival data available in the college’s retention-management system. The selected college is a mid-sized institution that enrolls approximately 5,000 students each fall. A diverse population of approximately 600 students participated in the study. The major theory guiding this study was Tinto’s persistence theory with its emphasis on the importance of understanding what causes students to not persist academically. The statistic used to determine the relationship between the criterion variable (graduation) and the combination of predictor variables (math, reading, and writing placement-test scores) for community college students who initially enrolled in the college in one of two fall semesters (2013-2014) was binary logistic regression.
Author: Lisa Martin
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2891603768