Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly's article and recent meta-analyses (e.g., Kuncel & Hezlett, 2007) should lay to rest any doubt over whether high-stakes standardized tests predict important academic and professional outcomes--they do. The challenge now is to identify noncognitive individual differences that determine the same outcomes. Noncognitive…

Sackett, Borneman, and Connelly argued that several common criticisms of cognitively laden tests are not well supported by the literature. The authors' systematic exploration of research surrounding seven specific criticisms is laudable, and we do not find fault with their conclusions as presented. In evaluating the seven concerns, however, the…

Responds to the comments by J. J. Krueger, K. D. Vohs, and R. F. Baumeister (2007) on the current authors' original article, "Do people's self-views matter? Self-concept and self-esteem in everyday life" (2007). Krueger et al brought up many points with which the current authors agree. Nevertheless, as Krueger et al noted these points of…

Summarizes and challenges criticism that the behavioral sciences have failed to produce long-lasting generalizations due to cultural and historical relativism and interaction effects. Using findings from meta-analysis, the author argues that considerable consistency and validity across contexts of many generalizations exists, as well as promising…

Some early childhood variables are examined to evaluate their predictive validity. The selection of children needing early childhood Title I services is complicated by the lack of criteria for defining who is educationally disadvantaged and the special problems of early childhood testing and measurement. The study used re-analysis of longitudinal…

Argues that the complex human behavior studied by educational researchers is by its nature unpredictable if not indeterminate. Concludes that research should focus on descriptions and interpretations of educational phenomena and not on the prediction and control of educational outcomes. (FMW)

The use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for predicting academic success has generated tremendous debate about fairness and bias. Despite discrepant observations and arguments, the need for a credible assessment formula remains strong. Although widely used by a large number of American colleges, the SAT and similar tests are not widely used…

To determine whether U.S. Supreme Court judges have a systematic attitude toward court cases dealing with the law of newsgathering and fair trial-free press, and whether that attitude can help predict the outcome of the pending case Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court (II), this paper applies an attitudinal theory from the field of social…

Describes an investigation of whether grades in an intensive French course could be predicted by combining information obtained in a brief interview conducted by the teacher with information from academic records. Results showed that overall grade point average is the best single predictor of performance in foreign language courses. (SED)

Describes a study applying the Tinto Model to predict student persistence/exit in a community college setting. A questionnaire assessing background, environmental, and integration variables was administered to full-time students during their first semester, successfully predicting subsequent persistence/exit behavior and affirming the utility of…

Current admission criteria for graduate and professional programs are discussed, their validity in predicting graduate student success is examined, and a potentially more effective model for predicting the success of various student groups (women, minorities, older students) is outlined. Innovative admission criteria and procedures are also…

Science plays an extremely important role in predicting the future of social phenomena, including pedagogy and andragogy. Research in these areas must be based on an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, systemic, and structural approach that is based on the assumption that upbringing and education are specific phenomena in which human…