Pre-university policy can determine the success (or failure) of university studies. Using different econometric techniques, this work carries out an exploratory study to assess the relationship between the mathematics skills developed at upper secondary school and performance and retention in university studies in the Economic-Business area. Our findings point out the recommended secondary education track to access the Economics, Business and Marketing Degrees is not the most suitable to achieve success in these studies. A set of specific proposals of Educational Policy is shown.
AlcockJ.CockcroftS.FrankF. (2008).
Quantifying the advantage of secondary mathematics study for accounting and finance undergraduates. Accounting and Finance,
48(5), 697–718. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2008.00261.x
2.
ArnoldI. J.RowaanW. (2014).
First-year study success in economics and econometrics: The role of gender, motivation, and math skills. The Journal of Economic Education,
45(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2014.859957
3.
ArnoldI. J.StratenJ. T. (2012).
Motivation and math skills as determinants of first-year performance in economics. The Journal of Economic Education,
43(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2012.636709
4.
BallardC. L.JohnsonM. F. (2004).
Basic math skills and performance in an introductory economics class. The Journal of Economic Education,
35(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.35.1.3-23
5.
BallardC.JohnsonM. F. (2005).
Gender, expectations, and grades in introductory microeconomics at a US university. Feminist Economics,
11(1), 95–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/1354570042000332560
6.
BeattieG.LalibertéJ.-W P.OreopoulosP. (2018).
Thrivers and divers: Using non-academic measures to predict college success and failure. Economics of Education Review,
62, 170–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.09.008
7.
Conferencia de Rectores de las Universidades Españolas. (2018). La universidad española en cifras. Curso 2016–2017 [The Spanish university in figures. Academic year 2016–2017].
8.
DanielA. M. (2020).
Identification of skill-appropriate courses to improve retention of at-risk college freshmen. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice,
0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120905542
9.
DoladoJ. J.MoralesE. (2009).
Which factors determine academic performance of economics freshers? Some Spanish evidence. Investigaciones Económicas,
33(2), 179–210.
10.
GreenJ. J.StoneC. C.ZegeyeA.CharlesT. A. (2009).
How much math do students need to succeed in business and economics statistics? An ordered probit analysis. Journal of Statistics Education,
17(3), 1–22.
11.
JohnsonD. E. (2000). Modelos multivariados aplicados al análisis de datos [Multivariate models applied to data analysis].
International Thomson Editores.
KoenkerR.HallockK. (2001).
Quantile regression. Journal of Economic Perspectives,
15(4), 143–156.
14.
LagerlöfJ. N. M.SeltzerA. J. (2009).
The effects of remedial mathematics on the learning of economics: Evidence from a natural experiment. The Journal of Economic Education,
40(2), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.40.2.115-137
15.
LagingA.VoßkampR. (2017).
Determinants of maths performance of First-Year business administration and economics students. International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education,
3(1), 108–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40753-016-0048-8
16.
MallikG.LodewijksJ. (2010).
Student performance in a large first year economics subject: Which variables are significant?Economic Papers: A Journal of Applied Economics and Policy,
29(1), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2010.00051.x
17.
OpstadL. (2018).
Success in business studies and mathematical background: The case of Norway. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education,
10(3), 399–408. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2017-0136
18.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). Education at a glance 2018: OECD indicators.
OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/19991487
19.
PérezC. (2004). Técnicas de análisis multivariante de datos. Aplicaciones con SPSS ED [Multivariate data analysis techniques. Applications with SPSS ED].
Pearson Prentice Hall.
20.
RodríguezP.CastilloA. (2018). Sociedad digital en españa 2017 [Digital society in Spain 2017].
Fundación Telefónica y Editorial Ariel.
21.
Salas-VelascoM. (2019).
Can educational laws improve efficiency in education production? Assessing students’ academic performance at Spanish public universities, 2008–2014. Higher Education,
77(6), 1103–1123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0322-6
SwopeK. J.SchmittP. M. (2006).
The performance of economics graduates over the entire curriculum: The determinants of success. The Journal of Economic Education,
37(4), 387–394. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.37.4.387-394
