ERIC Number: ED469178
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2000-Aug
Pages: 43
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Beyond FYA: Analysis of the Utility of LSAT Scores and UGPA for Predicting Academic Success in Law School. LSAC Research Report Series.
Wightman, Linda F.
This study was designed to examine questions about the validity and utility of two commonly used predictors of academic success in law school, the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score and the undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), when the criterion measure is grade point average at the completion of law school (LGPA). The study also examined the multiple correlation of LSAT scores and UGPA with LGPA. Data were examined for individual schools and for six clusters of law schools similar to one another on a variety of school and student body characteristics. A second set of issues examined concerned differential prediction: whether LSAT and UGPA predict cumulative LGPA as accurately for nonwhite students as for white students, and whether there are patterns of over- or underprediction among those groups that are different when cumulative LGPA is the criterion or when first-year LGPA (FYA) is the criterion. Data are from 142 law schools. The major finding is that LSAT score and UGPA in combination are related to cumulative LPA at approximately the same level as they are related to first-year LGPA. A second important finding is that patterns of predictive validity for different ethnic and sex groups do not seem to change regardless of whether the criterion is first-year or cumulative LGPA. However, there is an overall tendency for test scores and undergraduate grades to overpredict law school performance for nonwhite students. Data from the study demonstrate the utility of LSAT scores and UGPAs in the law school admission process beyond the prediction of first-year performance. (Contains 15 tables and 21 references.) (SLD)
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Law School Admission Council, Newtown, PA.
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Law School Admission Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A