Identifying first year science students at risk

This research sought to identify students at risk of failing one or more of biology, chemistry, mathematics or physics in their first semester of tertiary studies. Previous attempts to identify students performing poorly at the start of their university studies have used prior academic performance or information relating to a student's social situation or a combination of these factors. In this study academic performance in assessments during the first half of semester was compared with performance in the examination. In all cases poor correlations were observed. In-semester academic performance is, by itself, not an effective means of identifying students at risk of failing. This is likely to reflect a number of factors including different approaches to study adopted by students, the effects of transition from school to university, or non-academic problems