Examined relative efficacy of individual scale scores of college students (n=331) on Career Factors Inventory (CFI) and two calculations of Career Decision Scale (CDS-A and CDS-B) in predicting career decidedness and career implementation. Results indicated that different scales of CFI and CDS-B made unique contributions to prediction of career…

Compared relative efficacy of three drinking indices (quantity, frequency, quantity x frequency) in predicting presence of drinking problems in college students (n=55 males; 64 females). Although drinking frequency was as good a predictor as quantity x frequency for predicting such problems in males, it was best predictor of female drinking…

An instrument to measure cocaine-related expectancies across a continuum of use, the Cocaine Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), was developed and tested with 765 college students and 87 cocaine abusers. Expectancy factors identified by the CEQ were found to be powerful predictors of cocaine use. (SLD)

The purpose of this paper is to show the effect of using a selection test on the average criterion score of the entering class. The correlation coefficient (times 100) is shown to be the percentage of improvement of using the selection test over what would happen on the average if the test were not used. A simple formula is developed for…

The Nairn report, The Reign of ETS, has charged that the major college admissions tests administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS) have undue influence on admissions to higher education, and that the tests have little value in predicting future academic performance. Nairn's claims that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a poor predictor…

A study evaluated the use of the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory as a predictor of academic potential, for use in recruitment of optometry students. Although distinctive learning preferences were observed in low- and high-achieving students, correlations were not strong enough for predictive use. (Author/MSE)

Two differing opinions about the value of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in college admissions address these topics: over-reliance on the test as a predictor of student success; omission of some students' scores from institutional profiles; effects of abolition of the test; and admissions officer understanding of psychometrics. (Author/MSE)

This report studied the predictive validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for older students (early twenties to late fifties) at three universities and students' reactions to the admissions process. Analysis supports the use of SATs with local prediction equations. Interviews with older students suggest that their range of circumstances…

While Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American College Testing Program (ACT) scores are viewed as reliable, and colleges and universities continue to use them, they are often misunderstood and misused. They are reliable for predicting freshman grades only when comparisons are made within one racial group. They also do not account for student…

Examined validity of Standard Aptitude Test scores and Non-Cognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) in predicting grades and persistence for Black, Mexican-American, and White freshmen. Results revealed that noncognitive dimensions were not predictive of college grades or persistence for Black students, nor for persistence for Mexican-American students. NCQ…

Where human beings are concerned and complex behavior is involved, prediction of future performance is no simple matter. Scientifically developed, systematically standardized and carefully validated tests have emerged as the most reliable tools in predictive efficacy. If opponents of standardized testing win, society will lose. (Author/CM)

Examined the benefits to an admissions office of using the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in predicting freshmen grades (N=169 and N=172). Results suggested the SAT does not increase predictive validity substantially beyond the high school record. Presents an alternative admissions strategy based on multiple regression. (JAC)

Using predictive validity studies of the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and the undergraduate grade-point average (UGPA), this study examined the large variation in the magnitude of the validity coefficients across schools. LSAT standard deviation and correlation between LSAT and UGPA accounted for 58.5 percent of the variability. (Author/EGS)

This research investigated the effects of homework completion on test scores for 401 undergraduate students, 94 percent African American, at an urban university in 2 levels of introductory Spanish, all with the same instructor. Five to six teacher-generated exams were administered during the course; the lowest test score for each student was…

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).…