The Influence of Socioeconomic Status on the Predictability of College Performance

Although numerous studies have examined the validity of scholastic aptitude measures as predictors of college performance for black and white students, few studies have investigated the validity of these predictors for different socioeconomic levels within a racially homogeneous population. To study the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on the predictability of college performance, a sample of 1,631 white freshmen attending a large urban university was divided into homogeneous subgroups on each of three measures: (a) family income, (b) father's occupation, and (c) mother's education. Verbal and Quantitative Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and high school class rank were used to predict freshman grade‐point average within each subgroup. For all three socioeconomic measures, lower cross‐validated multiple correlations were associated with lower levels of SES. Possible explanations for these results are discussed and implications for research are presented.