How Accurate Are Self-Reported High School Courses, Course Grades, and Grade Point Average?

Edgar Sanchez, PhDRichard Buddin, PhDHow Accurate Are Self-Reported High School Courses, Course Grades, and Grade Point Average?ACT Research Report Series 2016 (3) © 2016 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. 5269Edgar Sanchez, a research scientist in the Statistical and Applied Research Department at ACT, works on predictive modeling of student educational outcomes such as enrollment, persistence, and graduation.Richard Buddin is a principal research economist at ACT. His research focuses on statistical evaluations of education and workforce programs.AcknowledgmentsThe authors are grateful to Kurt Burkum, Michelle Croft, Ty Cruce, Joann Moore, Richard Sawyer, and James Sconing for comments on an earlier draft. ContentsAbstract .................................................................................. ivIntroduction .............................................................................. 1Literature Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Research Approach ...................................................................... 3Data ................................................................................... 3Relationship between Accuracy and Student Characteristics ............................. 6Results ................................................................................... 7Accuracy of Self-Reported Coursework ................................................. 7Accuracy of Self-Reported Grades ..................................................... 11Accuracy of Self-Reported HSGPA .................................................... 16Discussion .............................................................................. 18How Accurately Do Students Self-Report High School Courses and Grade Information? . 18Does Accuracy Differ by Student Gender, Race/Ethnicity, or Family Income Level? ....... 19Conclusion .............................................................................. 19References ............................................................................. 20Appendix ............................................................................... 22 AbstractEducation researchers and college admissions officials often rely on self-reported coursework and grade information provided by high school students. This study compares the self-reported course and grade information of ACT®-tested students in a midwestern state with data from their high school transcripts. The evidence shows that for the most part, students’ self-reported information accurately represents their high school experience. About 94% of students accurately reported taking particular courses. The correlation between self-reported and transcript course grades was 0.66, with 96% of self-reported grades within a single letter grade of the transcript grade. High school grade point average (HSGPA) computed from self-reported course grades was highly correlated with transcript grade point average (r=0.83). The accuracy of coursework and grades differed little by gender, race/ethnicity, and low-income status. The results indicate that self-reported coursework and grade are reasonably accurate measures for use in education research and for preliminary screening of students by college admissions officials.Keywords: self-reported student data, high school grades, high school coursework 1IntroductionEducation researchers often study the relationship between high school coursework, grades, and admissions test scores on college enrollment and persistence, grade point average (GPA), and on-time degree completion (Adelman, 2006; Schmitt et al., 2009; Radunzel & Noble, 2012; Sanchez, 2013; Mattern, Patterson, & Wyatt. 2013). However, researchers often do not have access to high school transcript data; instead, they must rely on student self-reported course and grade information. One of the assumptions of their research is that the self-reported information adequately reflects student background and high school preparation. College recruiters and postsecondary administrators also use student self-reported information to identify and encourage potential applicants with suitable preparation to apply to their institutions (Gonyea, 2005).1 Ultimately, colleges obtain high school transcripts for making admission decisions, but self-reported information provides an efficient preliminary way to identify students adequately prepared for college. Moreover, course titles vary considerably from district to district, so postsecondary administrators may have difficulty assessing and categorizing high school coursework. A concise and comprehensive list of important courses may help postsecondary administrators efficiently identify qualified applicants.This study examines two questions related to the accuracy of students’ self-reported information: • How accurately do students report their coursework and grades?• D