Impact of high school curriculum on student performance at university

Abstract

Performance of students in universities is an important aspect to success in their future life and career. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), undergraduate students are diverse not only in their nationalities but also in the high school curriculum they have followed. This paper describes a pilot study conducted at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Dubai on identifying the influence different high school curricula have on student performance in universities. Academic and non-cognitive measures of 213 undergraduate student records were studied. Performance patterns of students based on their high school curricula were studied. Indian curriculum students were found to fare better in university than other students. American curriculum in UAE was found to be a modified version of UAE’s national curriculum, MOE. College readiness of these students was found to be the lowest in the population studied. American curriculum students displayed a prominent gap between the self-perception of their abilities and the reality of their performance, Grade Point Average. Scaling this study with more records will enable results and insights to be applicable to a wider population. Educators and accreditation authorities can use these insights to provide customized support to improve the college readiness and future success of students.