Predictive Validity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on First-Year Undergraduate GPA

Abstract

This study examined the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as a predictor of first-year undergraduate students’ GPA in the Faculty of Education Delta State University, Abraka. One research question and a null hypothesis directed the study which employed an ex-post facto correlational design. Eight hundred and forty education students enrolled at the Faculty of Education in the 2019/2020 session constituted the population for the study. From this population a sample size of 271 participants was selected through simple random sampling technique of balloting. The research instrument used for data collection was the UTME improvised use of English questions for 2019. UTME scores were correlated with students’ first year GPA scores. The data analyzed using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient statistics showed that UTME scores poorly predicted students’ first year’s GPA scores. It was concluded that students’ performance at the UTME did not reflect in their performances at the end of the first year. It was recommended that students at the secondary school level should be properly counselled to choose the area of study where they can excel.