Academic Grades as a Predictor of Occupational Success among Engineering Graduates
- 16 July 1973
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance
- Vol. 6 (2) , 93-103
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00256307.1973.12022579
Abstract
The assumption that there is a direct relationship between academic achievement and occupational success was tested with a sample of bachelor degree-level engineering graduates who had 5 to 10 years of postcollege working experience. Seventeen criteria of occupational success (from both internal and external frames of reference) in engineering were related to four college grade point averages: (a) total college, (b) senior year, (c) core courses, and (d) two design courses. Of the 68 relationships examined, eight were found to be statistically significant, and all were modest in magnitude. The findings suggest that intellectual accomplishment, as reflected by grades, may be a worthy goal to be valued in its own right, but it should not be used seriously as a forecaster of professional success. Implications of the results are discussed for employers, counselors, and educational evaluation.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Statistical principles in experimental design.Published by American Psychological Association (APA) ,1962
- The Industrial Need of Technically Trained Men—VIScientific American, 1913