Identification of factors that contribute to engineering design skill

A survey/test was developed to determine the capabilities, education, and noneducational experiences that contribute to the success of an engineering design student. The survey/test provided measurements of variables that were used to develop regression equations to predict student performance. To predict performance in a design contest, academic class, previous grade point average, family financial status, and perceived competence level were most important. To predict course grade, only previous grade point average was important