Exit velocity: is there truth in the commonly-held belief that grades for undergraduate students tend to improve from Year 2 to Year 3? A case study

Abstract

This case study makes analysis of final-year Progression and Award Board data of a professional undergraduate degree programme taken from three annual cohorts (2010-11 to 2012-13). The analysis shows that for each cohort there was a degree of exit velocity for those students achieving a lower second class degree or better, with the more able students achieving most progress in grade improvement from Year 2 to Year 3. However, for those students who achieved only a third class degree, there was consistent grade regression from Year 2.