Predicting success in college: A longitudinal study of achievement goals and ability measures as predictors of interest and performance from freshman year through graduation.

TLDR

The study examined how achievement goals, ability, and high‑school performance predict academic success across college. The authors first assessed which variables predicted interest and performance in an introductory psychology course in the first semester, then tracked students through graduation to examine continued interest and performance in subsequent courses. The study found that achievement goals, ability, and prior high‑school performance each uniquely predicted initial and long‑term academic outcomes, with mastery goals linked to continued interest, performance‑approach goals to performance, and ability and prior performance predicting academic performance but not interest, supporting a multiple‑goals perspective.

Abstract

The authors examined the role of achievement goals, ability, and high school performance in predicting academic success over students’ college careers. First, the authors examined which variables predicted students’ interest and performance in an introductory psychology course taken their first semester in college. Then, the authors followed students until they graduated to examine continued interest in psychology and performance in subsequent classes. Achievement goals, ability measures, and prior high school performance each contributed unique variance in predicting initial and long-term outcomes, but these predictors were linked to different educational outcomes. Mastery goals predicted continued interest, whereas performance-approach goals predicted performance. Ability measures and prior high school performance predicted academic performance but not interest. The findings support a multiple goals perspective.