The validity of predictors of academic performance in six postgraduate fields were compared. The fields included three liberal arts areas and three professional areas. The predictors included information about students's backgrounds, self-conceptions, values, nonacademic achievements, and curricular patterns as well as admissions test scores and…

Requests for reprints should be sent to: Leonard L. Baird, Research Psychologist, American College Testing Program, 330 East Washington Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.

Faculties as a whole have preferred distribution of grades which they use whether their current classes of students are brighter or duller than previous classes. (Authors)

The statistical and institutional influences on the prediction of first-year college grades were examined using data from College Board validity studies and the College Handbook. The criterion was the size of the multiple correlation between academic predictors and first-year college grades. (Author/MLW)

The relation of average grades awarded to the average ability of the students was studied in a large sample of colleges. The mean and standard deviation of freshman classes on an ability test, along with the mean and standard deviation of the freshman year grades obtained by classes over a five year period was available for several hundred…

The influence of social class on students' entrance to graduate and professional education was examined by analyzing data from a large longitudinal sample. Students who did not go on to further study tended to come from less affluent and less well educated families, while students who went to professional schools came from wealthier and better…

This study examined the statistical and institutional influences on the prediction of first-year college grades. The sources of information were the Validity Study Services file which summarizes the results of College Board validity studies and the College Handbook file which includes data about college characteristics. The criterion was the size…

The relationship of measures of academic ability and grades with high level accomplishment was examined by reviewing a wide ranging literature, including studies of highly creative scientists and technicians, physicians, high- and middle-level managers, and high school and college students. Author/MLW)

This review examines the accuracy and the concurrent and predictive validity of brief self-report information, and evaluates the promise and problems involved in its practical use. In section one, the power of self-report information for predicting and understanding grades is reviewed. In the second section, research on the influence of background…