Judging from how much high school students and their parents worry about standardized test scores, one might presume that an SAT or ACT score is the primary factor in college admissions. But a look at the numbers reveals a different reality. A review of SAT and ACT standardized test scores among students in a recent class at the nation's 200 most…

International institutions have been increasingly using the "GRE"® revised General Test to admit students to graduate programs.However, little is known about how scores from the GRE revised General Test are used in the admission process outside of the United States and their validity in predicting graduate students' performance (e.g.,…

The purpose of the present study was to extend the model of measurement invariance by simultaneously estimating invariance across multiple populations in the dichotomous instrument case using multi-group confirmatory factor analytic and multiple indicator multiple causes (MIMIC) methodologies. Using the Arabic version of the General Aptitude Test…

The identification of gifted and talented students and the accompanying fact that most identification systems result in the underrepresentation of students from African American, Hispanic, Native American, English language learning, and low-income families are two of the most discussed and hotly debated topics in the field. This article provides…

The rapidly increasing use of English language proficiency test scores by universities around the world to select international students has resulted in a range of admissions, marketing, academic and teaching support staff interacting with the tests in different ways. To date, there has been little research investigating the assessment literacy…

In line with expanded conceptualizations of validity that encompass the interpretations and uses of test scores in particular policy contexts, this report presents results of a comparative analysis of institutional understandings and uses of 3 international English proficiency tests widely used for tertiary selection--the "TOEFL iBT"®…

The Nairn report, The Reign of ETS, has charged that the major college admissions tests administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS) have undue influence on admissions to higher education, and that the tests have little value in predicting future academic performance. Nairn's claims that the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a poor predictor…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

This study determined whether using ACT Assessment Composite score, high school grade average, or both predictors jointly for college admissions would result in differential prediction or differential outcomes for traditional-aged and nontraditional-aged students. The analyses were based on data from 112,341 students at 79 postsecondary…

Describes three areas in which the graduate community is vulnerable to substandard practice when using Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores in decision processes: percentile versus raw scores, cut-off scores, and summed scores. Asserts that the graduate community is generally unaware that raw scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical…

Test repetition is a significant phenomenon in standardized admissions testing in terms of the numbers of examinees involved. This study was initiated to determine what additional advice might be offered to test takers contemplating repetition of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and test users confronted with how to interpret multiple test…

In order to understand the roles of test scores and diversity characteristics (including race and ethnicity) in the admission process, National Board researchers interviewed admissions directors who worked at selective public and private institutions are well as admissions consultants in the summer and fall of 1999. This report presents an…

This paper discusses one of the arguments that has been advanced against the use of standardized college admissions tests: the notion that their use leads admissions officers to reject non-Asian minority students on the basis of small and insignificant differences in scores. In the aggregate, the disadvantage minority students face as a result of…

This study was designed to examine the attitudes of teachers and students in Swedish upper secondary schools in regard to the use of higher education scholastic aptitude test (SAT) scores in lieu of secondary school grades to gain entrance into higher education programs. Since 1991 applicants to higher education have been allowed to take the…

The nature of percentile ranks scores is explored using concrete heuristic examples. It is explained why arithmetic operations require measurement on equal-interval scales, and that percentile ranks are not measured on equal-interval scales and therefore may not be added or averaged. The consequences of inappropriately adding percentile ranks are…