A relatively simple way of measuring institutional effectiveness in relation to degree completion is to estimate the difference between an actual and predicted graduation rate, but the reliability and validity of this method have not been thoroughly examined. Longitudinal data were obtained from IPEDS for both public and private not-for-profit…

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…

The method of Instrumental Variables is suggested as an alternative to traditional methods for estimating the reliability of test scores which avoids certain drawbacks of these methods. The use of the Instrumental Variables method is illustrated with a data set involving reading and math tests. (Author/JKS)

A longitudinal study was undertaken to determine whether measures that are readily available in most school districts, administered in kindergarten by classroom teachers, could predict reading achievement as measured by standardized tests in grades 1 through 4. The subjects were 553 children in the kindergarten class of 1964-65 in Ithaca, New…

A Group of children were given the Otis Lennon Mental Abilities Tests in grades 3, 5, and 7, to measure the degree of score consistency over time. The test predicted future academic success only moderately well in grade 5 and slightly, if at all, in grade 3. (Author/SJL)

Fifty-eight middle class children were tested over 6 years with 25 achievement, I.Q., and personality tests. Consistency of test results were evaluated by a variance comparison method and a simple signal detection model. Both methods lead to the conclusion that achievement tests are far better predictors than personality tests with I.Q. scales…

This study was designed to examine the predictive significance of different types and degrees of precocity in preschool children and to assess the effects of participation in a model preschool-kindergarten program operated in conjunction with the study. Extraordinary precocity is defined for this study as performance at the norm for children twice…

The stability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was studied by examining its performance over a 5-year interval with 16 non-handicapped children aged 45 to 61 months at the beginning of the study. Global scale stability coefficients (corrected for restriction in range) for Time 1 testing (age 4 years) and Time 4 testing (age 9…