What grades and achievement tests measure.
Lex Borghans1,2, Bart H H Golsteyn1, James J Heckman3,4
1Department of Economics, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Summary
Personality and intelligence quotient (IQ) predict academic performance and test scores. Personality traits are more crucial for grades, while IQ is more important for achievement tests, with both predicting life outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Intelligence quotient (IQ), academic grades, and achievement test scores are common cognitive measures.
- Existing research shows imperfect correlations between these measures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive power of personality and IQ on academic grades and achievement test scores.
- To compare the relative importance of personality and IQ in predicting these outcomes and broader life success.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of diverse datasets.
- Statistical modeling to assess the predictive validity of personality traits and IQ.
Main Results:
- Both personality and IQ significantly predict grades and achievement test scores.
- Personality traits are more predictive of grades, while IQ is more predictive of achievement test scores.
- Personality demonstrates greater predictive power than IQ for various life outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Academic grades and achievement tests are superior predictors of life outcomes compared to IQ alone.
- This enhanced predictive power stems from their ability to capture personality traits with independent predictive value beyond IQ.
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