Relationship Between TOEFL Score and Academic Success for International Engineering Students

Background Tests that classify English ability, such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), are often the only application metric common to international applicants from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. As such, these test results are sometimes used beyond their intended scope to predict student academic success. Purpose (Hypothesis) This study evaluated relationships between TOEFL scores and several measures of academic success for students at an American university abroad. Characterizing these relationships helps assess the scope of the TOEFL score's use in admissions decision making. Design/Method Linear and logistic regression were used to evaluate TOEFL score relative to overall grade point average (GPA), GPA for courses in engineering and in humanities, rate of passing a Comprehensive Assessment Examination (CAE), and graduation rate. High school GPA, gender, and nationality were also included as independent variables. Results A positive, statistically significant relationship was identified between TOEFL score and GPA, although weaker for engineering students than students in other fields, and for engineering courses than non-engineering courses. TOEFL score was also statistically significant in logistic regressions of CAE pass rate and graduation rate, indicating increasing probability of success with increasing TOEFL score. However, model goodness-of-fit measures were relatively low, indicating many students whose performance defies general trends. Conclusions In spite of correlations between TOEFL score and academic performance, TOEFL scores should not be used in admissions beyond assessing individual students' English proficiency. Additional research is warranted to investigate trends that were identified related to gender effects and engineering-specific student learning styles.

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