ABSTRACT
Auditory discrimination, or the ability to attend to and differentiate between similarly sounding words in the presence of background noise, may influence why an individual fails or passes a course . The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between auditory discrimination, key demographic variables, and academic performance among 68D Operating Room Specialist trainees . Scores on the Woodcock Johnson III Test of Auditory Attention were compared between 68D students considered academically at-risk and students performing well in the course . Volunteers consisted of 48 trainees from the 68D course , 25 high-risk students who failed the course , and 23 low-risk students with an AlB average . On average, high-risk students scored at an 8th-grade level , while low-risk students scored at an 1 1th-grade leveL We also found that Caucasian females scored at a 7th-grade level, while Caucasian males scored at an 1 1 th-grade leveL We were able to predict auditory discrimination by using three pieces of information Caucasian race, female gender, and high risk status. Implications of these findings on classroom design, potential interventions, and future research are discussed.
