University Admission Criteria and Learning Style: Predictors of Academic Success?

NACTA Journal, Jun 2005 by Garton, Bryan L, Kitchel, Tracy, Ball, Anna L

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if university admissions criteria and student learning style were predictors of academic performance and degree completion of college agriculture students. Freshmen enrolled in the University of Missouri's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, in the fall semesters of 1997 (n = 245) and 1998 (n = 197), participated. ACT, high school core GPA, and high school class rank were investigated as predictors of academic performance and degree completion, in addition to students' preferred learning styles. Regression analysis was utilized to determine the variance in students' cumulative GPA at the completion of five academic years. Step-wise discriminant analysis was performed to build a predictive model for degree completion. Using the Davis (1971) correlation conventions, a low, positive relationship was found between students' preferred learning style and academic performance for both academic years. The best predictor of students' academic performance for both groups, as determined by cumulative college GPA, was their high school core GPA. For both groups, learning style was not a predictor of students' cumulative GPA. High school core GPA was found to have limited value in predicting agriculture students' degree completion rates.

Introduction

"Degree completion is the true bottom line for college administrators, state legislators, parents, and most importantly, studentsnot retention to the second year, not persistence without a degree, but completion." (Adelman, 1999, p.l). To assist faculty in helping students achieve academic success, variables should be identified to help predict whether or not students might have difficulties in achieving academic success, and therefore whether or not those students will have difficulties in completing a degree. In determining degree completion, university admissions offices have been applying their own predictors for years.

Universities across the nation have established criteria in the selection of students for admission. While the selection criteria vary among universities, most universities use some combination of high school grade point average, high school class rank, and ACT or SAT examination. However, are these admission criteria valid in predicting academic performance and degree completion of agriculture students?

National studies indicate that students who are able to achieve a bachelor's degree within four years of enrolling in college is declining (Astin, 1996; National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 1993). Adelman (1999) reported that the rigor of a student's high school curriculum explained more of the variance in degree completion than either ACT, high school class rank, or high school GPA. In addition, Adelman indicated that college admissions formulas that emphasized ACT, high school class rank, or high school GPA were more likely to produce lower degree completion rates. Thus, research is warranted that determines the best predictors of degree completion in colleges of agriculture.

Gregorc (1979) described a person's learning style as consisting of distinct behaviors which serve as stable indicators of how a person learns and adapts to his/her learning environment. The most extensively researched and applied learning style construct has been the field-dependence/independence dimension (Guild and Garger, 1985).

Individuals who prefer a field-dependent learning style tend to have a global perception, have a more difficult time solving problems, are more attuned to their social environment, learn better when concepts are humanized, and tend to favor a spectator approach to learning. Additionally, individuals preferring a field-dependent learning style have been found to be more extrinsically motivated and learn better when organization and structure is provided by the teacher. Conversely, individuals who prefer a field-independent learning style tend to view concepts more analytically, therefore finding it easier to solve problems. Individuals preferring a fieldindependent learning style are more likely to favor learning activities that require individual effort and study. In addition, they prefer to develop their own structure and organization for learning, are intrinsically motivated, and are less receptive to social reinforcement. (Jonassen and Grabowski, 1993).

Research has been conducted regarding the relationship between students' learning styles and academic performance (Witkin, 1973; Gregorc, 1979; Garger and Guild, 1984; Claxton and Murrell, 1987; Schroeder, 1993). These studies can be summarized by Schroeder (1993) who acknowledged that being cognizant of and accommodating variations in learning styles could improve curricula, the teachinglearning process, and ultimately the retention of students in higher education. Recent studies have focused on assessing the learning styles of students in colleges of agriculture. Learning styles have been found to have a positive relationship with academic performance, as measured by grade point average (Torres, 1993; Torres and Cano, 1994), performance in agriculture courses (Garton et al., 1999), and overall success in higher education (Cano and Porter, 1997; Cano, 1999).