Assessing Longitudinal Change: Adjustment for Regression to the Mean Effects

Pascarella (J Coll Stud Dev 47:508–520, 2006) has called for an increase in use of longitudinal data with pretest-posttest design when studying effects on college students. However, such designs that use multiple measures to document change are vulnerable to an important threat to internal validity, regression to the mean. Herein, we discuss a brief history of regression to the mean and illustrate a straightforward procedure to make adjustments to initial pretest scores for regression to the mean effects utilizing a method developed by Roberts (in: G. Echternacht (Guest ed.) New directions for testing and measurement, 1980). Analyses are shown with both unadjusted and adjusted pretest scores, illustrating dramatic differences in conclusions about whether students change across time.

Influences of the Normative Environment of Peer Groups on Community College Students' Perceptions of Growth and Development

Grounded in Weidman's (1989a) socialization model and Pace's (1979b) theoretical conception of quality of effort, this study examines the effects of peer groups on community college students perceptions of general educational gains. Peer groups were defined as the aggregate student body within an institution. The sample consisted of a national sample of community college students who had responded to the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire. Given the nested structure of the data, hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine institutional- and student-level effects. Dominant influences on students' perceived gains were from the quality of effort exerted by students. Aggregates of individual-level measures were used as indicators of the peer environment and had little impact on individual-level estimates.     

An assessment of the construct validity of the CCSEQ Quality of Effort scales

A substantial body of research indicates that the greater the effort and time expended by students in the opportunities afforded by their colleges, the greater the likelihood of academic and personal growth, satisfaction with the institution, and persistence within the educational system. The most extensive effort exerted in operationalizing the concepts of involvement and integration was that of C. Robert Pace in his development of theCollege Student Experiences Questionnaire, which was the basis for the development of theCommunity College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ). This study examines the construct validity of the eight Quality of Effort scales resulting from the CCSEQ for students involved in all administrations of the instrument from 1990 through 1994. Results indicate that the Quality of Effort measures can be used to make valid and reliable inferences regarding students' efforts and involvement, and that the validity of the inferences is not conditional on whether the students are in vocational or transfer programs, attending full-time or part-time, or of majority or minority ethnic status.     

Early career outcomes of baccalaureate recipients: A study of native four-year and transfer two-year college students

This study explores differences in the job status, stability, and satisfaction of recent four-year college graduates with varying lengths of attendance at two-year institutions. A longitudinal design with controls for salient pre-college characteristics is employed. Results of the multivariate analysis of covariance indicate no differences in the early career outcome measures between students whose undergraduate preparation was solely in four-year colleges and those whose preparation was at both two- and four-year colleges. The administrative and research implications of these results are discussed.     

Influences of Institutional Expenditure Patterns on the Development of Students' Leadership Competencies

The central purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the expenditure patterns of over 300 colleges and universities and changes in students' perceptions of their leadership abilities over a 4-year period. Our findings, unlike those of most earlier studies, suggest that institutional expenditure patterns do have a statistically significant, albeit modest, influence on the growth of students' leadership abilities. These atypical findings, in the context of prior studies, may be due to conceptual and methodological attributes of this study that sought to alleviate the deficiencies in previous research noted by Wenglinsky, namely, the use of path analytic procedures to examine the indirect and direct effects of institutional expenditure patterns and distinguishing among different types of expenditure categories. The implications of these findings for those who study the effects of college on students and those responsible for promoting student learning are discussed.     

Faculty Emphases on Alternative Course-Specific Learning Outcomes in Holland’s Model Environments: The Role of Environmental Consistency

This study examines variability in the extent to which faculty members in the disciplinary-based academic environments of Holland’s theory emphasize different student learning outcomes in their classes and whether such differences are comparable for those in “consistent” versus “inconsistent” environments. The findings show wide variation in the extent to which faculty members in four of the academic environments of Holland’s theory emphasize the alternative student learning outcomes and that such differences vary based on the level of consistency or inconsistency in the environmental profiles of the environments. The implications of these findings for future research using Holland’s theory to understand longitudinal patterns of change and stability in the attitudes, interests, and abilities of college students as well as variability in the patterns of professional attitudes and behaviors of college faculty are discussed. Attention is also devoted to the policy development and practical implications of these findings for academic advisors, career counselors, and other college and university leaders.     

Fitting derivational morphophonology into a developmental model of reading

Oral language is the foundation on which literacy initially builds. Between early developing oral language skills and fluent reading comprehension emerge several types of metalinguistic ability, including phonological and morphological awareness. In this study, a developmental sequence is proposed, beginning with receptive language followed by phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and a new metalinguistic task measuring oral morphophonological accuracy (MPA), followed by decoding and culminating in reading comprehension. MPA is a measure of accurate primary stress placement in the production of derived words with non-neutral, stress changing suffixes (e.g., -ity). A path analysis with data from 76 third graders was used to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of these variables. The developmental model was confirmed, and a metalinguistic continuum, with MPA emerging after both PA and MA, was supported. Decoding and receptive language were the best unique predictors of reading comprehension. Surprisingly, MPA was more important to decoding than was PA, whereas MA was only indirectly implicated in both decoding and reading comprehension.     

The RA and TA experience: Impediments and benefits to graduate study

This study examines the growth and professional development of graduate students and compares these outcomes for students who have held assistantships and those who have not. In general, students perceive the assistantship to be a positive experience, but teaching assistants report less of a contribution to their professional development than do research assistants. Students with the without assistantship experience report the same growth in human relation and reflective thinking skills, but teaching assistants report the least growth in research skills, less even than students not having assistantships. Students with assistantships, both teaching and research, are more likely to be active within the external academic community by participating in professional societies and higher levels of scholarly productivity.This paper was prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Boston, November 1991.     

Intergenerational effects of college graduation on career sex atypicality in women

This study was designed to determine whether parents' possession of a baccalaureate degree influenced the sex atypicality of the careers attained by their college-educated daughters. The intergenerational effect of mother's or father's possession of a baccalaureate degree was examined for members of two racial groups who were included among respondents to the 1971 and 1980 CIRP surveys. The sample was limited to females who attended a single four-year college or university as first-time matriculants in 1971 and were also full-time participants in the labor force in 1980. A final sample of 1,596 respondents (1,269 whites and 327 blacks) met all selection criteria. A 15-variable block recursive model was estimated to study vocational behavior processes in the subjects as related to five categories of variables: (1) student background characteristics; (2) precollege variables; (3) institutional characteristics of the college attended; (4) measures of the collegiate experience; and (5) outcome measures (educational attainment, sex atypicality of career). Results substantiated the indirect influence of father's and mother's college education on the women's educational attainment and career sex atypicality 9 years after matriculation in college. Intergroup differences in effects suggested differences in family and vocational processes.