Findings

6-Year Graduation Rates Freshmen Satisfaction Survey

Noteworthy Findings

Note: We define "absence problem by midterm" as missing more than three classes in one or more courses as reported with midterm grades.

2006 Freshman Class

Of the freshmen who did not have any class with more than three absences by fall mid term - 90% had above a 2.0 GPA at the end of the freshman year. The average ACT of these students was 23.4.

Of the freshmen who had one or more classes with more than three absences by fall mid term - 56% had above a 2.0 GPA at the end of the freshman year. The average ACT of these students was 22.4.

Absences and Freshman Year GPA for 2005 and 2006 Freshmen

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Freshman Year GPA	2.96	1.98	2.5	1.69
Retention to Sophomore Year	89%	64%	78%	64%
ACT	23.6	23.8	22.5	22.5
Number of Students	2653	148	687	426

Group 1 � Never reported to Pathfinders, no significant absence problems as reported with final grades for the fall semester of freshman year.
Group 2 � Never reported to Pathfinders, significant absence problems as reported with final graders for the fall semester or freshman year. Pathfinders could not help these students because they were never brought to our attention.
Group 3 � Reported to Pathfinders, no significant absence problem as reported with final grades for the fall semester or freshman year (these students apparently changed their behavior after being contacte4d by Pathfinders.)
Group 4 � Reported to Pathfinders, significant absence problem as reported with final grades for fall semester of freshmen year (these students continued to miss class after being contacted by Pathfinders.)

Group 2 has been steadily declining over the years, an indication that more faculty are reporting to Pathfinders. Group 3 is increasing relative to group 4, an indication that more students are responding positively to Pathfinders contact.

Six Year Graduation Data

1997 - 2000

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Overall Graduation Rate	54%	58%	56%	58%	58%
Graduation Rate for Students with no Absence Problems	61%	59%	61%	62%	62%
Graduation Rate for Students with Absence Problems	38%	32%	30%	34%	26%

The average difference in ACT score between graduates and non-graduates is 2.0 points for those without absence problems.
The average difference in ACT score between graduates and non-graduates with absence problems is 1.0 point.
The average difference in ACT score between those without an absence problem and those with an absence problem is .5
Absence problem is defined as 6 or more absences in one class or a total of 10 or more absences in all classes as reported with final grades for the fall semester of freshman year.

Social Science Research Center | Mississippi State University