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Basic mathematics test predicts statistics achievement and overall first year academic success

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Abstract

In the psychology and educational science programs at Ghent University, only 36.1 % of the new incoming students in 2011 and 2012 passed all exams. Despite availability of information, many students underestimate the scientific character of social science programs. Statistics courses are a major obstacle in this matter. Not all enrolling students master the basic mathematical skills needed to pass statistics courses. Therefore, we propose a test that measures these skills. Our aim is to examine the predictive validity of the test with regard to the statistics course and also as to overall academic success. The results indicate that a test of very basic mathematics skills helps identify at-risk students at and before the start of the academic year. The practical implications of these results are discussed. The test aids the efficient use of means for remedial interventions and supports future students in choosing a higher education program that suits their potential.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Lot Fonteyne, Filip De Fruyt, Wouter Duyck, Kris Erauw, Katy Goeminne, Jan Lammertyn, Thierry Marchant, Beatrijs Moerkerke, Tom Oosterlinck & Yves Rosseel

  2. Department of Law, Ghent University, Universiteitstraat 4, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Nele Dewulf

Authors
  1. Lot Fonteyne
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  2. Filip De Fruyt
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  3. Nele Dewulf
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  4. Wouter Duyck
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  5. Kris Erauw
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  6. Katy Goeminne
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  7. Jan Lammertyn
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  8. Thierry Marchant
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  9. Beatrijs Moerkerke
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  10. Tom Oosterlinck
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  11. Yves Rosseel
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Correspondence to Lot Fonteyne.

Additional information

Lot Fonteyne Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Lot.Fonteyne@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Lot Fonteyne is engaged in research at Ghent University and is interested in the transition from secondary to tertiary education. She is currently working on the construction of SIMON, an online self-assessment tool that allows secondary education pupils to choose a post-secondary education major that maximally suits their interests and potential. The underlying research that allows the construction of the tool concerns the area of career choice guidance in general and more specifically, the predictive validity of both cognitive and non-cognitive factors for academic success in post-secondary education, the development and validation of a tailored interest inventory and cognitive, non-cognitive and study skills questionnaires, and the design of effective feedback and score reports.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Fonteyne, L., De Fruyt, F., & Duyck, W. (2014). To fail or not to fail? Identifying students at risk by predicting academic success. In M. F. Freda (Ed.), Reflexivity in Higher Education. Research and Models of Intervention for Underachieving Students. (pp. 345-356). Roma: ARACNE editrice S.r.l. doi:10.4399/978885487014727.

Filip De Fruyt Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Filip.DeFruyt@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Filip De Fruyt is senior full professor in Differential Psychology and Personality Assessment at Ghent University in Belgium. He is the current Director of Studies of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University. He is interested in the assessment and development of individual differences in youth and adults. De Fruyt has published over 150 papers and chapters in a range of top-tier journals. His recent work focuses on the validity of individual differences’ constructs for the prediction of consequential outcomes, including school achievement and employability.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Fonteyne, L., De Fruyt, F., & Duyck, W. (2014). To fail or not to fail? Identifying students at risk by predicting academic success. In M. F. Freda (Ed.), Reflexivity in Higher Education. Research and Models of Intervention for Underachieving Students. (pp. 345-356). Roma: ARACNE editrice S.r.l. doi:10.4399/978885487014727.

Nele Dewulf Department of Law, Ghent University, Universiteitstraat 4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Nele.Dewulf@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Is student counsellor at the faculty of Law at Ghent University.

Wouter Duyck Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Wouter.Duyck@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Language processing and acquisition. Cognitive psychology. IT use in education and bilingualism.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Fonteyne, L., De Fruyt, F., & Duyck, W. (2014). To fail or not to fail? Identifying students at risk by predicting academic success. In M. F. Freda (Ed.), Reflexivity in Higher Education. Research and Models of Intervention for Underachieving Students. (pp. 345-356). Roma: ARACNE editrice S.r.l. doi:10.4399/978885487014727.

Pynoo, B., Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Duyck, W., Sijnave, B., & Duyck, P. (2012). Teachers’ acceptance and use of an educational portal. Computers & Education, 58, 1308–1317.

Pynoo, B., Devolder, P., Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Duyck, W., & Duyck, P (2011). Predicting secondary school teachers’ acceptance and use of a digital learning environment: a cross-sectional study. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(1), 568–575.

Szmalec, A., Loncke, E., Page, M.P.A., & Duyck, W. (2011). Order or dis-order? Impaired Hebb learning in dyslexia. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 37(5), 1270–1279.

Hachmann, W., Bogaerts, Szmalec, A., Woumans, E. Duyck, W., & Job, R. (2014). Short-term memory for order but not for item information is impaired in developmental dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia.

Kris Erauw Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Kris.Erauw@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Kris Erauw is interested in education and innovation. He works as an innovation professional at the department of teaching support of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences in Ghent..

Katy Goeminne Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Katy.Goeminne@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Is student counsellor at the faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Schuyten, G., Dekeyser, H., & Goeminne, K. (1999). Towards an electronic independent learning environment for statistics in higher education. Education and Information Technologies, 4(4), 409–424.

Martens, R., Portier, S., Valcke, M., Van Buuren, J., Dekeyser, H., Goeminne, K., & Schuyten, G. (1995). The use of embedded support devices in interactive learning environments: the impact of student characteristics. Theoretical base. OTIC document 33, Heerlen, Centre for Educational Technology and Innovation, Open University, 47p.

Schuyten, G., Dekeyser, H., Goeminne, K., & Van Buuren, J. (1994). Manipulating the teaching-learning environment in a first year statistics course. Proceedings of the fourth international conference.

Jan Lammertyn Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Jan.Lammertyn@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Jan Lammertyn works as a statistical consultant at the faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University.

Thierry Marchant Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Thierry.Marchant@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Axiomatic foundations of Multicriteria decision aiding. Voting theory. Measurement theory. Decision under uncertainty. Bibliometrics.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

nihil.

Beatrijs Moerkerke Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Beatrijs.Moerkerke@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Mediation analysis and causality. Analysis of fMRI data.

Tom Oosterlinck Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Tom.Oosterlinck@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Tom Oosterlinck works at the education quality assurance department of the faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University.

Yves Rosseel Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. E-mail: Yves.Rosseel@UGent.be

Current themes of research:

Applied data analysis. Structural equation modeling

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Rosseel, Y. (2012). Lavaan: an R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, 48(2), 1–36.

Welvaert, M., Tabelow, K., Seurinck, R., & Rosseel, Y. (2013). Adaptive smoothing as inference strategy. Neuroinformatics, 11(4), 435–445.

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Fonteyne, L., De Fruyt, F., Dewulf, N. et al. Basic mathematics test predicts statistics achievement and overall first year academic success. Eur J Psychol Educ 30, 95–118 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-014-0230-9

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