Study: Early GPA Predicts Graduation Better Than ACT

First-semester grade point average may be a better way to predict whether students will graduate than an ACT score, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study examined more than 1,900 freshmen over a multiyear period, focusing on students from low-income families, poorly financed high schools and historically underrepresented groups. Among these students, the GPAs of those who went on the graduate were virtually identical to those who dropped out. But first-semester grades were an effective way to predict graduation.