ERIC Number: EJ1078795
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-4985
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Available Date: N/A
The Role of the A* Grade at a Level as a Predictor of University Performance in the United Kingdom
Vidal Rodeiro, Carmen; Zanini, Nadir
Oxford Review of Education, v41 n5 p647-670 2015
In summer 2010, the A* grade at A level was awarded for the first time. This grade was introduced to help higher education institutions to differentiate between the highest achieving candidates and to promote and reward greater stretch and challenge. Exploring data from the Higher Education Statistics Service and making use of multilevel regression models, this research investigated for the first time the relationship between achieved A* grades and performance at the end of three-year courses in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. The results of this work showed that, when prior schooling and other background characteristics were accounted for, the number of A* grades was a good predictor of achieving either a first or at least an upper second class degree. Specific subject-level analyses revealed that the number of top grades in some A level subjects was associated with good degree outcomes in specific degree subject areas.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Grades (Scholastic), High Achievement, Higher Education, Predictor Variables, Academic Achievement, Multiple Regression Analysis, Correlation, Outcomes of Education, College Students, Intellectual Disciplines, STEM Education, Universities, Comparative Analysis, Academic Degrees
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
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