Abstract:

Research in Flanders shows that only 40% of the 47 000 students who started higher education acquired all of the 60 credits during the academic year 2007-2008 [1]. This is partly due to a wrong choice of study [2]. Better support for making the right choice before the start and/or reorientation a few weeks after the start of the term seems to be more necessary than ever. But is it possible to predict the chance of success?
In previous research [3], we examined different tests that could be used for making a better choice before start or for reorientation after a few weeks. These tests examined elementary scientific and math skills. We focused on engineering students, bachelors students in electromechanics and bachelor students in construction. The scores on the tests were compared with the scores at the end of the term. Unlike what we expected, the tools seemed to have no predictive value. Although the chance of success increases as students scored higher, the coefficient of determination is too low to reliable predict the chance of success.
We continued this research and looked for other factors that could predict the chance of success. During the first week of the academic year 2012 2013 we measured besides elementary scientific and math skills also the motivation of the students. We compared these results with the scores on mid-term examens of the first semester.
In the paper we will give an overview of our current and coming research.

Keywords:

Reorientation, predictive test, exam results.