First-year students are still failing at an alarming rate. This is an international issue that universities face and there is currently no clear indication of the cause of the problem as universities move from being elite to providing mass education. This article examines the possible correlation between students' high school performance and…

With respect to the selection of black students for college admission, traditional criteria, such as SAT scores and high school grade point average, have been shown not to be valid predictors of future college performance. Therefore, their continued use raises the question of whether this is a measurement problem or an instance of racism. (EH)

Arguments are set forth to encourage continued use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as supplementary information rather than as an exclusive criterion for selecting graduate candidates in English. The author predicts that the GRE will be increasingly used and will increasingly come to define and control undergraduate and graduate…

An attempt to assess the validity of the personal interview in the selection of residents for the program in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, is reported. The data suggest that the residency interview may be of greater value to applicants than to selection committees. (Author/MLW)

Studies of the predictive validity of the Dental Admission Test have been reported, but none suggest how an admissions committee should assess the scores of applicants who take the test twice. Improvement on the test scores might compromise their utility for purposes of student selection. (Author/MLW)

High demand for admission to Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programs and limited state resource allocations for LPN training programs in Washington, have forced North Seattle Community College (NSCC) to utilize a selective admissions policy for its LPN program. Currently, prospective LPN students are required to obtain satisfactory scores on…

A variety of methods currently in use for selecting candidates for admission to community college allied health programs are described, and research is reviewed showing that typical indices of academic performance are unrelated to job performance. Needed research and possible selection approaches are suggested. (LH)

The Law School at North Carolina Central University faced the dual problem of improving student performance on the bar examination while maintaining a large percentage of black students. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) was found to be the single best predictor of student performance on the bar examination. However, if only the students…

Assessment programs like the American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) continue to play an important role in the admission decisions of many colleges. In many cases, they also serve a meaningful counseling and guidance function for high schools and colleges. The data reported in this paper suggest that the two programs can…

The evolution of the Medial College Admission Test (MCAT), its present constitution and operation, and plans for its future are discussed. Also included is a current selected bibliography on the test. (AG)

Due to factors such as high enrollment demands, limited institutional space, and high program costs, certain admissions requirements in the guidance/selection of students for health technology programs at Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) have become necessary. A Health Technology Admissions Evaluation System was created to develop and…

Three alternative strategies for college selection, their associated cost and benefits are described in this study. These include a strict meritocratic procedure, a minority quota procedure and a disadvantaged quota procedure. The strict meritocratic procedure was operationalized in terms of predicted probability of success; the minority quota…

Some of the controversial issues involved in the use of objective tests by institutions of higher education, as this use affects the selection and attendance by members of minority groups, are reviewed. Admissions committees now rely on the ability of a test to predict students' performance at their institution to guide their selection. However,…

There are both strengths and weaknesses of using standardized test scores as a criterion for admission to institutions of higher education. The relative importance of scores is dependent on the institution's degree of selectivity. In general, decision processes and admissions criteria are not well defined. Advantages of test scores include: use of…