An analysis of the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and its relationship to the criterion of class standing achieved in the school year ending in the spring of 1979 has been undertaken by the University of California, Irvine, to determine the MCAT's predictive power so that test results can be used in admissions procedure. (Author/JMD)

The theory of culturally biased test scores is discussed, in terms of both the Bakke case and the theory's broader societal implications. Literature addressing the problem of test bias is reviewed. Remedies for predictive invalidity are proposed. The importance of thorough documentation in court litigation concerning this issue is stressed.…

Thirteen predictors of self-reported high school leadership were investigated using data from the Project TALENT sample of high school seniors. The high school leader was characterized as mature, interested in business management, self-confident, socially sensitive, vigorous, and having high socioeconomic status. Cognitive variables were not…

Sections of the Comprehensive Ability Battery, the High School Personality Questionnaire, and the School Motivation Analysis Test were administered to a sample of tenth grade students. Correlations of these measures with end of year grades and among each other are presented. (JKS)

Tested the hypothesis that phonological mediation plays a critical role in the early development of reading and spelling in French. The findings corroborated predictions regarding performance involving pseudowords of different syllablic structures except for the failure to find differences between open and closed syllables. Results confirmed the…

Describes a study conducted at Kirkwood Community College, Iowa, to determine if student scores on the American College Testing Program's Assessment of Student Skills for Entry Transfer (ASSET) placement test could help identify potential dropouts among vocational students and to compare the predictive validity of high school grades and ASSET…

The validity of Tinto's model of college withdrawal was investigated with 100 4-year public college women and 165 2-year private college women. Institutional commitment was most directly affected by social integration. This commitment was seen as pivotal to retention. (IAH)

The reliability of a method of adjusting grade point averages for differences in college-departmental grading standards was examined, using 409 female and 518 male Dartmouth graduates. Such adjustments' effects on predictive validity of high-school grades, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and achievement test scores were assessed, including gender…

Examines what linguistic devices speakers use to make an entity salient in a discourse and how they re-refer to discourse entities moving in and out of focus. Speakers' center of attention was manipulated via a videotaped basketball game. Speakers referred to prominent entities as subjects; when they referred to them as objects, they repeated the…

Examined the reliability and validity of the Work Sampling System (WSS) for evaluating the schoolwork of 100 kindergarten children. Results indicated that the WSS checklist and summary report had very high internal and moderately high interrater reliability. The WSS accurately predicted the performance of the children on a norm-referenced…

Assessed correlations between 415 first graders' scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), and their scores on standardized achievement tests in mathematics and reading in grades 3, 6, 9, and 10. Concluded that the MRT has potential for contributing to readiness decisions in early grades. (MM)

Predictive validities of scales developed to measure children's affective and cognitive attitudes toward school were examined in relation to the academic achievement of 430 female and 450 male 11-year-old Australians. Results suggest that these scales may be useful short-form measures of children's attitudes toward school. (SLD)

Results of empirical validation studies of six statistical models available for indirectly estimating the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across a large geographic area are presented. Models were evaluated using Colorado Social Health Survey data for 4,745 adults from 48 subareas of Colorado. (SLD)

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…

Research in the area of grade adjustment methods from the last 27 years is reviewed in the context of admissions selection and of prediction of student performance in college. Contemporary grade adjustment methods can often produce indexes of academic performance with greater reliability than that found with grade point average. (SLD)