Completion of Introductory English as a Predictor of Introductory Psychology Achievement

Abstract

The high rate of attrition in introductory psychology courses at community colleges has led some institutions to require an introductory English course, focusing on reading and writing, as a prerequisite. The primary objective of this research was to assess whether successfully completing the introductory English course had any relation to successful completion of the introductory psychology course. Participants were 11,139 students enrolled over a 3-yr. period in introductory psychology courses at a large urban community college in the southwest. A simultaneous multiple regression analysis indicated a significant but not a practical increase in the variance of final grades.