The advantages and disadvantages of two common grading methods are presented, and from an analysis of the virtues and vices of these prototypic methods, a set of goals or criteria for grading systems is derived. Percentage and class-curve grading systems are discussed in detail. Criteria for grading systems include the following: obtain relevant…

Compared with data from civilian institutions, data from two graduating classes at the United States Military Academy showed extrordinary stability of independently calculated grade point averages from freshman to senior years and no decline in the validity of Scholastic Aptitude Tests and high school class rank as predictors of these GPAs over…

Analysis of the effects of social class, sex, race, and undergraduate grade-point average on rank and status in graduate professional schools indicated that differences do exist in ranking or attendance at professional schools, based on gender, race, previous rank at undergraduate school, and social status. (CB)

Students' lecture attendance, course grades, class rank at the end of the first year of medical school, and scores on the NBME Part I examinations were correlated. The data suggest that a significant number of students who did not attend lectures did well academically. (MLW)

In reaction to the "Hopwood v. Texas" decision, which declared the use of race in college admissions illegal, Texas created a percentage plan that guaranteed admission to students who graduate within a specified percentile of their high school class. Under the Texas plan, any student graduating in the top 10% of his or her high school…

A study of 410 University of Texas (Houston) dental school graduates taking the Texas State Dental Board Examination immediately after graduation did not identify any characteristics strongly predicting success or failure, although there was a weak but insignificant relationship between class rank and passing. However, the fact that most test…

Reports study of 288 graduate psychology majors to determine what variables correlated with grade point averages in psychology. Reports three clusters of significant variables: (1) high school grades in verbal areas; (2) achievement in college general studies courses; and (3) mathematics aptitude and achievement in college. (CFR)

In this article, the authors test a "frog-pond" model of elite college admission proposed by Attewell, operationalizing high school academic context as the secondary school-average SAT score and number of Advanced Placement tests per high school senior. Data on more than 45,000 applications to three elite universities show that a high…

In this essay, Rebecca Zwick confronts the controversy surrounding the use of standardized tests in college admissions. She examines the degree to which the SAT and its lesser known cousin, the ACT, limit access to college, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, and considers two alternative admissions policies that do not involve tests:…

This article uses four data sets to assess changes in the relative weights of test- and performance-based merit criteria on college enrollment during the 1980s and 1990s and considers their significance for affirmative action. Our results support the "shifting meritocracy" hypothesis, revealed by selective postsecondary institutions'…

This study compared the effectiveness of several existing and proposed methods for statistically adjusting college grade point averages (GPAs) for course and departmental differences in grading standards, using first-semester grades from an entire entering class at a large state university (4,351 students), in 1988. Most of the adjusted GPAs…

The study explored the qualifications of learning-disabled college students by examining the academic performance (first year grade point average--GPA) of 179 learning-disabled and 249 nonlearning-disabled students classified by two objective admission criteria--either Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or high-school class rank. Overall, the scores…

This article is a response to Wainer's comments on a research study representing the first major analysis of factors linked to state differences in Scholastic Aptitude Test performance. (JAZ)

A 1997 Texas law requires universities to admit the top 10% percent of seniors from each Texas high school, opening a door for many Hispanic and Black seniors in schools with high minority populations. Observers are concerned some students may be underprepared for university work. Elite public universities around the country are watching to see if…