Predicting academic achievement of Greek secondary school Students from family background and California Psychological Inventory scores

Family background data and California Psychological Inventory (CPI) protocols were obtained from 1643 Greek students (825 males, 818 females), from 19 schools in upper, above average, below average, and lower socioeconomic districts of the City of Athens. Students were enrolled in Grades 8 and 9 (gymnasio) or 10 through 12 (likio). Background variables, individual CPI scales, and a combination of six CPI scales developed earlier to forecast high school academic achievement in the United States were related to the scholastic performance of the Greek students. For all 1643 students, the optimum linear combination of three family background variables correlated .29 with grades, whereas the previously defined CPI equation had a correlation of .38. Similar results were observed in subsamples defined by sex and school level. It was concluded that the CPI measures showed sufficient validity in this cross-cultural application to warrant further research at higher educational levels, and in special subgroups such as the intellectually gifted or mathematically precocious.