Table 3 Research evidence on validity of prior grades
Valid for the following dimensions of study success (References) | Exceptions or additional findings | Mixed /not sufficient evidence for the following dimensions of study success (References) | Not valid for the following dimensions of graduate success (References) |
|---|---|---|---|
Undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) | |||
Graduate degree completion Positive relationship (Kurysheva et al., 2022a; Mendoza-Sanchez et al., 2022; Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017; Verostek et al., 2021; Wollast et al., 2018) | Graduate degree completion No relation (Cox et al., 2009) | Time to graduate degree Negative relationship (Howell et al., 2014; Kurysheva et al., 2022a ; Mendoza-Sanchez et al., 2022) No relation (Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017) | Research productivity, defined as number of published papers, presentations and obtained grants |
Performance on introductory courses (Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017; Park et al., 2018; Willcockson et al., 2009) | Faculty ratings Positive relationship: ratings (Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017) No relation (Howell et al., 2014) | Passing a qualifying exam | |
Graduate grade point average (GGPA) (Bridgeman et al., 2009; Burton & Wang, 2005; Howell et al., 2014; Kurysheva et al., 2022a ; Kurysheva, van Ooijen-van der Linden et al., 2022; Moneta-Koehler et al., 2017; Verostek et al., 2021; Zimmermann et al., 2015) | Graduate grade point average (GGPA) The overall good predictive power of UGPA differs per field of study. UGPA has a stronger predictive validity toward GGPA in chemistry departments than it has in biology departments (Burton & Wang, 2005). It also depends on how much narrowed the range UGPA in a study is (Burmeister et al., 2014) | ||
The first-year undergraduate GPA | |||
Graduate degree completion No relationship (DeClou, 2016) | |||
The last-year undergraduate GPA | |||
GGPA Positive relationship (Zimmermann et al. 2015) | |||