Relational reasoning is the foundational cognitive ability to discern meaningful patterns within an informational stream, but its reliable and valid measurement remains problematic. In this investigation, the measurement of relational reasoning unfolded in three stages. Stage 1 entailed the establishment of a research-based conceptualization of…

The test-optional movement in the United States emerged largely in response to criticism of standardized admissions tests as inadequate and potentially biased measures of postsecondary promise. Although anecdotal reports suggest that test-optional policies have improved campus diversity, empirical research has not yet confirmed this claim.…

After surveying 1,827 students in their final year at eighty randomly selected two-year and four-year public and private institutions, American Institutes for Research (2006) reported that approximately 30 percent of students in two-year institutions and nearly 20 percent of students in four-year institutions have only basic quantitative…

This research examined whether the SAT and ACT would predict college grade point average (GPA) after removing g from the tests. SAT and ACT scores and freshman GPAs were obtained from a university sample (N=161) and the 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (N=8984). Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among g, GPA,…

The vast amount of research conducted on student persistence over the past thirty years is indicative of the continuing and evolving interest in retention of students. Framed through multiple perspectives, this retention research is driven by the fact that more students leave institutions without graduating, year after year. Much more than an…

UNFAVORABLE RESULTS IN GRADING ESSAYS, PARTICULARLY THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD GENERAL COMPOSITION TEST, LED TO THE STUDY. IT WAS EXPECTED THAT PROGRESS IN OBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF ESSAYS WOULD BE MADE, BY MEANS OF A FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGMENTS OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF COMPETENT READERS IN AN UNSTRUCTURED SITUATION. IT WAS HOPED THAT…

This paper demonstrates that the various College Board examinations, most importantly the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs), make predictions of grade point averages at the University of California at Berkeley that are biased against women. This finding persists even when one has made corrections for differences in fields that women and men study…

A review of the literature concerned with validity data and policies for various methods of treating multiple scores is reported, as are analyses of data from the College Board Validity Study Service. The analyses evaluated the use of Scholastic Aptitude Test--Verbal alone, Scholastic Aptitude Test--Mathematical alone, and the use of both in…