The Examination of ACT Engage© Survey Scores and First-Time, Full-Time Undergraduate Student Retention when considering Gender, Race, and Socioeconomic Status at a private Midwestern University.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference of ACT Engage© Retention Index scores and domain scores between retained and not retained first-time, full-time undergraduate students when considering gender, race, and socioeconomic status (SES) level. This study’s research utilized statistical analysis techniques to determine the difference between ACT Engage© scores and retention status, gender, race, and SES status. Six research questions were posed. To address these research questions, 12 hypotheses were tested using two-factor ANOVAs. The study’s sample consisted of 1,178 first-year students completing the ACT Engage© survey at a university in the Midwest during the fall academic semester.The results from the study indicated that ACT Engage© Motivation and Skills domain scores are higher for students who are retained than not retained. The results also determined that ACT Engage© Retention Index scores are higher for those students retained over those students not retained, higher for females over males, higher for whites over minorities, and higher for high SES students over medium and low SES students. The survey did not determine any interactional effect between the independent variables on the dependent variables. The findings of this study may be used to understand the limitations of the ACT Engage© survey.