This study describes student behavior through the actual assessment and placement (A&P) process. It then uses an alternative A&P policy that utilizes an additional measure that assesses prior math preparedness alongside subtest choice. Utilizing data from a community college that allows its' students to choose the assessment subtest used…

California's College of the Canyons has used the four Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) tests to assess students' abilities in basic and college math since spring 1989. These four reports dated June 1993, July 1993, May 1994, and June 1994 examine the predictive validity of the MDTP tests and the cut scores used to place students. The…

A study was conducted to compare scores on the main placement tests used at Santa Rosa Junior College (i.e., the Diagnostic Reading Test and pre-calculus and pre-algebra tests) and scores on the American College Testing Service's ASSET battery of tests with student course grades to see if any of the tests acted as a reliable predictor for success.…

A need existed to develop a graphic procedure to predict student success in 2-year engineering technology programs, based on ACT scores and high school grades. The study stemmed from the need to help students identify their chances of success, to help students clarify their goals, and to indicate needed institutional responses. Regression analysis…

In the summer of 1987, a project was undertaken by a consortium of eight California community colleges to develop valid and culturally fair assessment procedures for placing students into appropriate level courses. The specific objective of the project was to provide a guide to the state's community colleges for the development of these procedures…

A study was conducted at Kirkwood Community College (KCC) to assess the role played by students' selection of a major as a predictor of academic success as measured by graduation from a two-year college. The study utilized computerized records and transcripts of students enrolled at KCC during fall 1974 through fall 1980. The records of a sample…

In 1981 a study was conducted at Kings River Community College to determine whether there were student characteristics that could help predict success in a college-level calculus course (Math Analysis I). Subjects for the study included all students enrolled in Math Analysis I in fall 1979 or fall 1980. Student records were examined to establish…

A study was undertaken at Morton College, in Illinois, to examine the relationship of entering grade point average (GPA) and grades in prerequisite support courses in algebra, biology, and chemistry to graduation in the college's nursing program. A sample was developed of 255 students admitted to the nursing program in 1990, 1991, and 1992 and…

A study was undertaken at California's Riverside Community College District to determine predictors of grades and success rates in a first-semester general chemistry course. Fall 1996 course outcomes were analyzed for two groups of students: 137 who had completed the course, successfully or not, and 178 who had dropped it. Data were also collected…

California's College of the Canyons has used the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) test to assess students' abilities in basic and college English since spring 1993. These two reports summarize data from a May 1994 study of the predictive validity of the APS writing and reading tests and a June 1994 effort to validate the cut…

The Bean and Metzner Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model appeared to be a good model to address community college student attrition because it takes into account the environmental variables that colleges must consider to enhance persistence. A study was conducted to determine how well the Bean and Metzner Model fit with community…

In fall 1993, Golden West College (GWC), in California, participated in a large-scale study coordinated by Computerized Assessment and Placement Programs (CAPP) to gather evidence supportive of the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) tests. The study focused on gathering instructor ratings of student preparedness levels in a…

In forecasting its fall credit headcounts, the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis at Prince George's Community College (PGCC) utilizes the Component Yield Method (CYM), an enrollment projection model developed by the college's planning analyst in the early 1980's. By disaggregating enrolled students into multiple groups, each with an…

In 1986, a study was conducted by the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) to evaluate the relationship between reading placement scores and classroom performance. The study sample consisted of students from fall 1985, spring 1986, and fall 1986 who had been tested using the College Board Assessment and Placement Test upon…

Concerns over equity, access, and fairness of placement testing have resulted in state regulations requiring validity evidence of the placement test with respect to a criterion variable, such as final course grades. A study was conducted to assess the validity of placement tests used to place students in pre-collegiate and college-level English…