The paper argues that contemporary test validity theory places the consequences of testing on the lives of all college applicants at the back of the test validation argument. It introduces the notion of test efficacy as a process to gather evidence on claims on consequences of testing on all college applicants that can be traced back to validity.…

England has a 'pre-qualification' system of higher education admissions, where applications and offers are made to young people before exam results are received. While in most cases offers are conditional on achieving a grade target in A Level exams, recent years have seen an exponential growth in 'unconditional offers', where the offer of a place…

Each month, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) surveys a random sample of individuals who three months prior registered on mba.com--the GMAC™ website for prospective graduate business students. Their survey responses provide an inside look into the decision-making process of people currently considering applying to a graduate…

First-time entrants to tertiary education are required to make interconnected decisions about their field of study, the fees they will pay and the application requirements they are prepared to face. Their choice of programme and institution will be influenced by the costs and entry criteria. The decisions they make about what to study and where…

This paper examines whether subject-specific admission tests may allow Swedish higher education institutions to admit better-performing students. The performance of students admitted via a mathematics and physics aptitude test was reviewed with a focus on activity, retention, and credits earned, and the results were compared with students admitted…

Assessment of prior learning (APL) refers to the process of validating individuals' learning in a variety of contexts, representing a relatively new practice in many countries. In higher education, APL is used to receive access and credits based on skills and knowledge acquired mainly outside of formal academic settings. This paper focuses on…

Sweden has a two-step selection process for admission to higher education. Eligibility is assessed to ensure that the candidates have the ability to take the course/programme. Selections are made based in part on other measures. The focus here is eligibility, particularly the 25:4 scheme, a measure introduced to widen access to higher education in…

Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) refers to a process where adults' prior learning, formal as well as informal, is assessed and acknowledged. In the first section of this paper, APL and current conceptions of validity in assessments and its evaluation are presented. It is argued that participants in the assessment are an important source of…

The purpose of this study is to examine step-wise admission to two medical programs with regard to selection effects. By using data from a large-scale longitudinal project, the influence of background variables on regular and step-wise admission is estimated. Characteristics of both applicants and those admitted are investigated using descriptive…