This article uses a logistic probability distribution approach to examine the effect of lecture attendance, aptitude test results, individual heterogeneity and pedagogic intervention on student performance for first-year microeconomics and second-year macroeconomics modules at a leading South African university. The research was motivated by the throughput concerns in South African institutions of higher education, where approximately one in four of the students enrolled complete their degrees in the minimum regulated time. Using secondary data of 630 and 360 first- and second-year students, respectively, the findings revealed that lecture attendance, aptitude score and having received a foreign high school education have a positive and statistically significant effect on academic performance. Students who received intervention and those using English at home performed better than others at second-year level. Based on these findings, a more stringent attendance policy, varied assessment measures, and wider intervention strategies, among others, are recommended to enhance performance.