Academic and Occupational Performance: A Quantitative Synthesis

Computer searches of three data bases and hand searches of four major review articles yielded 35 studies of the association between academic and occupational performance in various fields completed since 1950. The study-weighted mean of the 209 correlations is .155, and the standard deviation is .176. Although highly significant, academic indicators such as grades and test scores account on average for only 2.4% of the variance in occupational performance criteria such as income, job satisfaction, and effectiveness ratings. Predictions of occupational performance from academic indexes were somewhat higher in business and nursing, somewhat lower in teaching and engineering, and not significant for MD’s and PhD’s. The correlation magnitudes depend on several characteristics of the studies and their populations.

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