The Differential Relationship Between Academic Achievement and Dropout Rates Based on Academic Performance Levels

This study examines whether the relationship between academic achievement and dropout rates varies according to levels of academic performance. Previous studies have generally reported that as academic achievement increases, dropout rates decrease. However, in the case of University A, dropout rates actually increased as academic achievement improved in the highest academic performance group. To determine if this is just because the number of dropouts appears high, a multivariate analysis was conducted to see if the same results as previous studies would appear when accounting for various factors. The study sample consists of 14,577 freshmen who entered University A, a regional university, from 2014 to 2023. The research method divided GPA into six groups, and a logit analysis was conducted on the sub-samples. The results show that dropout rates increase with higher academic achievement in the highest GPA group, and this result is different from previous studies. This result suggests that, to prevent dropouts among high-achieving students, it may be more effective to focus on discouraging transfers to universities with better reputations.