Research Symposium Program - Individual Details

Analyzing If Personality and Effort Predict High School Performance Better than Standardized Testing

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify if the personality traits and work ethic expressed by a student are better predictors of academic performance, in terms of GPA, than a high-stakes standardized assessment. Previous research has tied a strong connection between Conscientiousness and academic achievement, but fails to address the implications of the other four main personality traits, under the abbreviation of OCEAN. This study aims to find if the other personality traits also impact a high school student's performance. Work ethic is another non-cognitive factor that was introduced to see if Conscientiousness and how hard some students work interconnect, with both high and low scores. Another unique attribute of this study was that Florida's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards (B.E.S.T) Assessment was taken into account when measuring student achievement through standardized tests. Providing a unique view to Florida inhabitants that impacts their high school career. A correlation study was conducted to determine a relationship between the cognitive and non-cognitive traits, specifically chosen to stay away from causation. A pool of 100 high school students from freshman year to senior year were sent a survey, relying on self -reported scores of GPA, Standardized test scores, and full truth when answering the adapted Personality questionnaire from The International Personality Item Pool(IPIP). 66 individuals responded and were scored through the Likert Scale. 52 respondents actually meant the requirements and were used as data to support the hypothesis. (Had to cut it, original too long)

Keywords: Standardized Assessments, Personality Traits, Psychology