The use and validity of the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) to predict the success of graduate school applicants is heavily debated, especially for its possible impact on the selection of underrepresented minorities into science, technology, engineering, and math fields. To better identify candidates who would succeed in our program…

This study examined the relationship between and among the changes in the level of institutional fundraising and changes in state funding at Maryland public 4-year institutions. As institutions have become more engaged in fundraising, the impact of private giving success on changes in state funding becomes more apparent in the context of increased…

This article reconsiders the issue of clinical versus statistical prediction. The term clinical is widely used to denote 1 pole of 2 independent axes: the observer whose data are being aggregated (clinician/expert vs. lay) and the method of aggregating those data (impressionistic vs. statistical). Fifty years of research suggests that when…

This report briefly describes and analyzes several of the most frequently used techniques for depicting trends and making projections of education statistics. Each technique is described simply and nontechnically, with its uses and shortcomings, and a step-by-step analytical and graphic example and explanation. Projection techniques described…

Since problems associated with the statistical methodology of educational research are becoming increasingly important, this paper examines a subset of problems associated with the analysis and interpretation of aggregated data. Two major questions arise: (1) if a researcher knows the level (e.g., individual, teacher/classroom, school, school…

A visual display is introduced that enables one to compare the predictive validities of all possible non-negatively weighted sums of two predictors. This two-predictor validity curve assesses the level of predictability of a criterion from composites of two predictors. Derivations are presented for the general case. For illustrative purposes, the…

Published reports and papers pertaining to the validity of measures commonly used at college entrance are reviewed and summarized in this report. These measures consist of various types of academic quantitative indices used to describe the high school record and various types of academic tests. The data are categorized by sex and ethnic…

The 4,987 freshmen who entered the Bloomington campus of Indiana University in the fall of 1977 were used to establish two schemes for predicting first-semester grade point averages. Three sets of prediction equations and a graphic scheme for determining probable grade point averages were provided. Entering freshmen norms were included for SAT…

This monograph covers the theory, application, and interpretation of both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques in institutional research. Each chapter opens with a hypothetical case study, which is used to illustrate the application of one or more statistical procedures to typical research questions. Chapter 2 covers the comparison…