The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the cultural distance hypothesis in determining group differences on intelligence and performance scales in Black and White subjects. This view, the Cultural-Distance Approach, briefly stated is that a sub-culture's distance from the major culture, on which test questions of a test are based and validated, will determine that sub-culture's group sub-score pattern in relation to the sub-score pattern of the norming population. Eighty...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Cross Cultural Studies, Cultural Influences, Intelligence...
This study examined the accuracy of predictions of college grades in English, mathematics, social studies, and natural science courses, and the accuracy of predictions of overall freshman grade point average (GPA) based on American College Testing Program (ACT) assessment test scores and on high school course work and grade information from the ACT Assessment Course Grade Information Section (CGIS). Estimates of prediction accuracy (more than 160 institutions) were compared to those obtained...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Entrance Examinations, College Freshmen, Courses, English, Estimation...
A longitudinal study called The Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development examined the relationships between the kinds of talk that children experience at home and school at ages 3 and 4 and measures of literate abilities at age 5. Subjects, 87 children in 2 cohorts of 42 and 45 children from low-income families living in the Boston, Massachusetts area, were audiotaped during specific verbal interactions. Home visits took place when the children were age 3 and again at age 4:...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Language, Communication Skills, Factor Analysis, Family Influence, Family...
Aptitude tests should predict student success at the university level. This study examined the predictive validity of the General Aptitude Test (GAT) in Saudi Arabia. Data for 27420 students enrolled at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University were analyzed. Of these students, 17565 were male students, and 9855 were female students. Multiple regression, logistic regression, and correlation analyses were conducted. The results show that the best predictor of student success at the university was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, College Students, Aptitude Tests, Multiple Regression Analysis,...
A study was conducted to determine (1) if the gratifications sought and obtained model were applicable to local television news viewing, and (2) if the scales constructed from factor analyses of gratifications sought and obtained could predict television news viewing. The focus of the study was a new television station in central Illinois that offered itself as an alternative to commercial television and promised to feature religious and family programs. Prior to the station's broadcast debut,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mass Media Effects, Models, Needs Assessment, News Media, Predictive Validity,...
The Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP) is a new developmental screening tool for children aged 2 years 9 months to 5 years 8 months. The instrument, which has been standardized on 1,200 subjects representing nine geographic regions, identifies children who are functioning below the developmental level of their peers. The sampling method was rigorous, and the results closely parallel United States Census Bureau statistics. The reliability is well within acceptable professional standards....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Predictive Validity, Preschool Children, Preschool Education, Scoring, Screening...
The ability of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and undergraduate grade point average (GPA) to predict success in medical school was studied, and two complementary methods of determining if the tests are biased against ethnic groups were examined. Data from 497 majority and 82 minority medical students at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University (East Lansing) over a 6-year period were used to test for predictive validity and differential prediction. Majority status...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Admission Criteria, Ethnic Groups, Grade Point Average, Higher...
Psychometric theory has been one of psychology's stronger foundations and a major contributor to the recognition of psychology as a scientific discipline. Basic principles of psychometric theory led to the development of respected intelligence tests and large and comprehensive testing and assessment programs. This paper synthesizes major developments in psychometric theory, focusing on the issues of reliability and validity. The synthesis is developed from: (1) Cattell's basic data relation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Construct Validity, Educational Research, Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign...
The Open Academic Analytics Initiative (OAAI) is a collaborative, multi-year grant program aimed at researching issues related to the scaling up of learning analytics technologies and solutions across all of higher education. The paper describes the goals and objectives of the OAAI, depicts the process and challenges of collecting, organizing and mining student data to predict academic risk, and report results on the predictive performance of those models, their portability across pilot...
Topics: ERIC Archive, At Risk Students, College Students, Open Source Technology, Data Analysis,...
To determine whether admission interviews could differentiate commitment, 456 applicants from 2 medical schools were tested on the commitment, 456 applicants from two medical schools were tested on the Defining Issues Test, which measures the amount of principled or postconventional moral reasoning. The participating institutions were two Israeli institutions: the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, and the Ben-Gurion University. In the Defining Issues Test, the subjects are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Admission Criteria, Attitude Measures, College Admission, College Applicants,...
Remarks on the practice of class visitation at the college level in English courses are directed toward revealing critical weaknesses of such practice. Examples, drawn from experience, suggest that psychological damage to the instructor often results from direct classroom observation. A more successful approach to evaluation is discussed in terms of "indirection", whereby the various feedback cues utilized neither interfere with performance nor destroy professional attitudes. (RL)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Observation Techniques, College Faculty, English Instruction, Evaluation...
This work asks one simple question: "how reliable is the method used by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to estimate projected rates of VET program completion?" In other words, how well do early projections align with actual completion rates some years later? Completion rates are simple to calculate with a cohort of students who start together in a very short program with a defined end date. The context in vocational education and training (VET) is,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Vocational Education, Graduation Rate, Predictive Measurement, Predictive Validity,...
The validity of seven criteria utilized in conjunction with personal interviews and School and College Ability Test scores in the selection of applicants for admission to four Allied Health programs was investigated. The independent predictor variables studied were high school grade point average (GPA), the number of high school natural science courses taken, high school English grades, high school natural science grades, high school mathematics grades, percentile rank in high school, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Allied Health Occupations Education, College Admission,...
The purpose of this study is to develop "Secondary School Burnout Scale." Study group included 728 students out of 14 schools in four cities in Turkey. Both Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were conducted on the data. A seven-factor solution emerged. The seven factors explained 61% of the total variance. The model indices of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated a good-fit. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients for the sub-dimensions of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Factor Analysis, Measures (Individuals), Foreign Countries, Locus of Control,...
The scores of handicapped students taking tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations are flagged so that admissions officers will be aware that they were achieved under special circumstances. A series of studies was initiated to determine whether special administrations of such tests are comparable to standard administrations, in which case flagging would no longer be necessary. The studies looked at comparability data for test takers with hearing...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Admission Criteria, College Admission, College Entrance Examinations, College...
This study was designed to explore the effect of selected test and background variables on the pooled within-school relationship between Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores and first year grade average (FYA), and to assess the potential role of selected Test of English as a Foreign Language-related variables as supplemental predictors of FYA for foreign students. Data were supplied by 59 United States schools of management for 1,762 foreign non-native speakers (English second...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Age Differences, College Entrance Examinations, Correlation, English (Second...
This study investigated the correlation between noncognitive variables and academic success in a freshman composition course. A sample of 257 freshmen taking an introductory English course completed a survey assessing their attitudes and achievement expectancies. The questionnaire measured self-ratings of overall academic ability, drive to achieve, writing ability, creativity, and self-confidence in intellectual ability. Correlations were computed for the entire sample and separately for male...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, College Freshmen, Counseling Techniques, English, Freshman...
This paper describes the reliability of the Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire to assess preferred ways and goals of spiritual expression. The means subscales assessed thinking, feeling, acting, and relating in the area of spiritual expression. A total of 405 university students participated in this investigation. Study 1 analyzed the instrument in terms of its reliability and construct validity. Study 2 utilized the instrument to assess the relationship between spiritual means and ends as...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Attitude Measures, College Students, Higher Education, Mental Health, Predictive...
The purpose of this study was to combine knowledge of teacher demographic data with time-series forecasting methods to predict teacher turnover. Moving averages and exponential smoothing were used to forecast discrete time series. The study used data collected from the 22 largest school districts in Iowa, designated as FACT schools. Predictions were made for the 1968-69 school year and then validated with the actual data for that school year. Data were organized into 27 types, which were...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Age Differences, Data Analysis, Demography, Faculty Mobility, Marital Status,...
The conventional paradigm for testing expectancy theory predictions of work behavior has been to correlate expectancy-value reports with concurrent measures of motivation and performance. Although this static, two-variable approach has typically yielded statistically significant results, correlations have not been sizable. This study, using a sample of design and development engineers over a four-year period, posited and found that expectancy theory predictions were materially strengthened by...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Expectancy Tables, Performance Factors, Predictive Validity, Predictor Variables,...
This study was designed to test the validity of using creativity and academic motivation variables, in addition to the traditional variables of scholastic aptitude and high school GPA, as predictors of college GPA. The sample consisted of the 1973-74 freshman class at the College of Basic Studies (CBS) at Boston University; CBS is a two-year college designed for educationally marginal students. The predictor variables included: (1) personality measures from the Test of Effective Academic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Ability, Academic Achievement, Academically Handicapped, Achievement Tests,...
Items from Peirs-Harris and Coopersmith self-concept tests were evaluated against independent measures on three self-constructs, idealized, empathic, and worth. Construct measurements were obtained with the semantic differential and D statistic. Ratings were obtained from 381 children, grades 4-6. For each test, item ratings and construct measures were subjected to factor analysis. In each instance, six factors were extracted, but only one was designated by the construct measures. Multiple...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Correlation, Elementary Education, Elementary School Students, Factor Analysis, Item...
This paper reports on a two-part evaluation of the Test of English at Matriculation (TEAM) in use at the University of Edinburgh. TEAM has been used since 1987 to identify entering non-native speakers of English who are likely to be at risk linguistically and who should receive English language support. Separate samples of candidates' scores were used to assess: (1) TEAM's concurrent validity with other measures of English language proficiency, such as the English Language Proficiency Test...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, College Students, Comparative Analysis, English (Second...
This module, the fourth of four units about vocational competency measurement, is module 20 in the Vocational Education Curriculum Specialist series. The purpose stated for the document is to help in the validation of a competency test after it has been developed, in the determination of how test results will be reported, and in the consideration of ways of setting standards for passing or failing the test. Content is organized into three sections, each of which focuses on one goal and two or...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Behavioral Objectives, Competence, Competency Based Education, Inservice Education,...
A study examined the linguistic strategies of strong and weak readers in grades three and six within the context of D. E. Rumelhart's interactive model of the reading process. A linguistic prediction task was set up to investigate students' use of orthographic constraints, syntactic redundancy, and syntactic and semantic knowledge. A program was written for a computer so the prediction task could be presented as a progressive cloze activity. The data were examined using inferential and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Aptitude, Cognitive Processes, Elementary Education, Grade 3, Grade 6,...
In July 1994, College of the Canyons (COC) in California conducted several predictive validity studies of the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) Reading Test. COC began using the 35-question objective format test in spring 1993. Fall 1993 test scores were used in determining the ability of the APS Reading Test to predict student success in both basic skills and college-level English courses offered at COC. Correlation coefficients were computed for each English course between...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Colleges, Predictive Validity, Reading Tests, Standardized Tests, Student...
Acceptable performance on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is necessary for acceptance into medical school; therefore, students planning a career in medicine and their advisors would benefit by having information useful in predicting performance on this examination. The present study examined the validity of the ACT Assessment as such a predictor, using as subjects 197 undergraduate students at a large midwestern university who applied to the medical school during a five year period....
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Entrance Examinations, Educational Counseling, Grade Point Average, Higher...
In 1986, a study was conducted by the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) to evaluate the relationship between reading placement scores and classroom performance. The study sample consisted of students from fall 1985, spring 1986, and fall 1986 who had been tested using the College Board Assessment and Placement Test upon registering. An analysis of the relationship between course grades, the percentage of students who were successful, and placement scores indicated that there...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Community Colleges, Discriminant Analysis, Grades (Scholastic),...
The Yudofsky scale is considered to be one of the best scales for measuring aggressive behavior developed to date. One of the chief shortcomings of the scale, however, is appropriate methods for scoring it in ways that make the resulting scores well-suited for data analyses. The basic scoring problem with the Yudofsky scale is that the scale is inherently discontinuous and non-linear; more specifically, it is a logical rather than classical psychometric scale. A variety of alternative scoring...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Aggression, Models, Predictive Validity, Psychological Testing, Psychometrics, Rating...
A preliminary study was conducted to examine indicators which tend to reflect relationships between personality traits and professional choice among elementary education students enrolled in the teacher education program in Eastern Kentucky University. Education students in elementary education (N=122) completed the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. From this population, a random sample of 34 subjects was drawn. Correlations were made with respect to personality traits, gender, grade point average,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adjustment (to Environment), Career Choice, College Students, Elementary Education,...
Adolescents' motivation is a critical factor for reading success. The lack of motivation adversely affects adolescents' abilities to enhance vocabulary and reading comprehension skills as well as developing powerful reading strategies (Roberts, Torgesen, Boardman, & Scammacca, 2008). Starting in the fourth grade, students' academic expectations increase due to high stakes testing. Researchers analyzed questions 8 and 16 from the Motivation to Read Profile focusing on participants'...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reading Comprehension, Reading Strategies, Lifelong Learning, Grade 4, Reading...
The purposes of this study were to develop a culture specific critical thinking ability test for 6, 7, and 8. grade students in Turkey and to use it as an assessment instrument for giftedness. For these purposes, item pool involving 22 items was formed by writing items focusing on the current and common events presented in (Turkish) media from 2009 to 2011, general home problems and problems regarding to school, and by considering aspects of critical thinking dispositions which were stated by...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Critical Thinking, Diagnostic Tests, Gifted, Academic Ability, Test Construction,...
In this technical report, data are presented on the predictive and concurrent relation between various student demographic variables (gender, race/ethnicity, special education status, Title 1 status, English language learning status, and economic disadvantage) and three reading easyCBMs (passage reading fluency, vocabulary, and multiple-choice comprehension) with a criterion measure of the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). The findings are replicated for two school districts and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Evidence, Reading Fluency, Academic Achievement, Research Reports, Criterion...
Measurement properties of the written rules tests were examined to determine their suitability for assessing driver knowledge and skill. It was concluded that the tests, as measurement tools for granting or renewing a driver's license, were not adequate. Recommendations for test improvement and a sample test copy are included. (AG)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Driver Education, Factor Analysis, Item Analysis, Predictive Validity, Program...
This report explores the validity of measures for eventual use in assessing attitudinal and cognitive skills of delinquent adolescents. Ten measures of a battery along with a reading test were administered to adolescent males, 14 to 18 years of age, held in pretrial detention. The 11 tests were validated against 37 criterion variables encompassing post-detention performance outcomes in areas of social, community, and job adjustments. Criterion information was obtainable from about one-quarter...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adjustment (to Environment), Adolescents, Attitude Measures, Cognitive Tests,...
The aim of this research is to investigate if the attachment styles significantly predict the decision self-esteem, decision making styles and five-factor personality traits. Subjects of the study were 567 students in total from different faculties of Selcuk University. The results of the study showed that the attachment styles of the students significantly predict decision self-esteem, decision making styles and personality traits. It was seen that secure attachment style is the most...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Personality Traits, Attachment Behavior, Decision Making, Self Esteem, Cognitive...
If it can be shown that the Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics test (SAT-M) is a reasonably good predictor of success in particular mathematics courses, it may have a role as a measure of prerequisite skills. The predictive validity of the SAT-M was studied by collecting grades from freshman mathematics courses at 10 colleges (3,499 students). Compared to tests that were specifically designed for placement purposes, the SAT-M score was a relatively poor predictor of grades in most courses....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Algebra, Calculus, College Entrance Examinations, College Freshmen, Grades...
In this study, four years of formal observations of classroom teaching practice were employed to ascertain the practice fidelity of a site-based school reform in a secondary school setting. Those observations were then used as a criterion variable in an examination of differences in the perspectives of administrators, teachers and teaching peers about the reform's implementation. The results showed sustained levels of practice fidelity and statistically significant differences in the ratings of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Attitudes, Educational Change, Teaching Methods, Student Attitudes,...
While Online Learning Environments (OLEs) can potentially support learning that is more autonomous and authentic in nature than traditional instructional environments often allow, students do not always use OLEs in the ways expected or desired by their tutors. This paper examines the findings of a recent evaluation of an OLE designed for Masters-level engineering students and, drawing on relevant research, offers possible explanations for the particular ways in which the students used the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Use Studies, Technology Uses in Education, Program Evaluation,...
Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to improve their practice. The MET project is working with nearly 3,000 teacher-volunteers in public schools across the country to improve teacher...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Evaluation, Feedback (Response), Measures...
A study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to provide data on the relationship of cumulative grade point average (GPA) and College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) performance. Because Florida community college students must be eligible for graduation in order to take the CLAST, the study focused mainly on MDCC students with GPA's of 2.0 or higher. Study results included the following: (1) students with cumulative GPA's of 3.0 or better had passing rates of 90% or higher on...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Achievement Tests, Community Colleges, Grade Point Average, Group Testing, Minimum...
To assess structural coupling in schools, investigators must first have measures with established reliability and validity levels. Structural coupling refers to the mechanisms and norms in organizations that influence interactions among individuals. For three structural coupling measurement techniques--participant observation, interviews, and surveys--the study estimated content, construct, convergent, and predictive validity levels and test-retest and internal consistency reliability levels....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Interprofessional Relationship, Interviews,...
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) validity data on disabled students were obtained from 145 institutions with validity data on nonhandicapped students. First year grade point averages (FYAs) were obtained for almost 1,000 disabled students who had taken special test administrations of the SAT with extra time and for more than 650 disabled students who had taken standard test administrations. Empirical Bayes procedures were used in conjunction with the sample of nonhandicapped students to develop...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Entrance Examinations, Disabilities, Educational Testing, Grade Point...
An index that reflects the accuracy of selection associated with a predictive validity of "r" is presented. Based on Sheppard's thoerem on median dichotomies, it is a measure of improvement over chance assignment to "accept" (or "reject"). Because the index is a measure of the accuracy of this assignment, rather than of variation from prediction throughout the distribution, the index is deemed to be a more appropriate measure than r squared or indices based on r...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Correlation, Predictive Validity, Speeches, Statistical Studies, Testing, Kleinke,...
Rating scales of the "scaled behavioral expectation" type were developed to measure the constructs of independence and initiative, conscientiousness, enthusiasm, critical facility, teaching skills, research and experimentation, communication, and persistence. The scales were used by faculty in three psychology departments, two chemistry departments, and one English department, who indicated the skills and behavior which were expected of graduate students in their department. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Behavior Rating Scales, Chemistry, College Entrance Examinations, College Faculty,...
Out-of-school time (OST) youth programs are inherently difficult to assess. They are often very dynamic: Many youth interact with one another and with staff members in various physical environments. Despite the challenge, measuring quality is critical to help program directors and policy makers identify where to improve and how to support those improvements. This article describes recent research on the Assessment of Program Practices Tool (APT), establishing its strength as an evaluation and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, After School Programs, Program Evaluation, Educational Quality, Youth Programs,...
This study examines one part of a validity argument for portfolio assessments of teaching practice used as an indicator of teaching quality to inform a licensure decision. We investigate the relationship among portfolio assessment scores, a test of teacher knowledge (ETS's Praxis I and II), and changes in student achievement (on Touchstone's Degrees of Reading Power Test [DRP]). Key questions are the extent to which the assessment of teaching practice (a) predict gains in students' achievement...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Portfolio Assessment, Teaching Experience, Teacher Certification, Educational...
A study was undertaken at Morton College, in Illinois, to examine the relationship of entering grade point average (GPA) and grades in prerequisite support courses in algebra, biology, and chemistry to graduation in the college's nursing program. A sample was developed of 255 students admitted to the nursing program in 1990, 1991, and 1992 and regression equations were calculated to determine the relationships between these predictor variables and graduation status after 2 years. Means and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Graduates, Community Colleges, Grade Point Average, Grades (Scholastic),...
A University of California faculty committee, the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), has recommended eliminating achievement tests and requiring only the "New SAT" for admission to the UC system. The proposal to endorse the New SAT has thus far drawn relatively little notice, as it is part of a broader and more controversial set of proposed changes in how UC identifies the top 12.5 percent of California high school graduates who are eligible for admission. Yet the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Low Income, Testing, Academic Achievement, High School Graduates, Achievement Tests,...
This study tested opposing predictions made by Gamson's Minimum Resource Theory and equity theory concerning the type of coalitions that will be formed when members of a triad expect that rewards will be correlated with amounts of individual resources. Results supported equity theory in that subjects, whose work on a pretask was used as the basis for assigning resources in a bargaining game, formed conservative (strong against weak) coalitions. When subjects either did not work or were paid...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Behavioral Science Research, College Students, Cooperative Planning, Interaction...
