Success in the US: Are Cambridge International Assessments Good Preparation for University Study?

This article focuses on the research being conducted by University of Cambridge International Examinations (Cambridge) to ensure that its international assessments prepare students as well as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate for continued studies in colleges and universities. The primary purpose of the research is to highlight the predictive validity of Cambridge examinations and other students' characteristics to predict preparedness for and continued academic success at US universities. The research uses data collected from three years' worth of students enrolled at Florida State University (FL). The data include information about each student's performance at high school, ethnicity, gender, and first-year Grade Point Average (GPA). Multilevel modelling has been applied to the data using the statistical software package MLwiN to investigate the relationships between the variables, and in particular to determine which are the best indicators of academic success at university while taking into account the effects of individual high schools. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)