In 2009 New York State began an initiative to improve teaching and learning through the implementation of new teacher certification exams. The Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST) replaced the much-maligned Liberal Arts and Sciences Exam (LAST) that had been in a legal battle with minority test takers since 1996. Billed as a "basic test of…

The passing rate in the Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) is considered a key indicator of the quality of the nursing program. While a plethora of studies has identified the factors affecting NLE success, no study has tried to explore the role of an institutional standardized competency examination on NLE. The purpose of this study was to…

This study investigated whether student achievement outcomes in an Illinois suburban high school district differed when students were instructed by teachers with varying backgrounds, including those with and without previous teaching experience; those who did and did not coach; those who did and did not sponsor an activity; and those with and…

This study examines a diverse set of nearly 100 private institutions that adopted test-optional undergraduate admissions policies between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016. Using comparative interrupted time series analysis and difference-in-differences with matching, I find that test-optional policies were associated with a 3% to 4% increase in Pell Grant…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced nursing education programs to change traditional face-to-face teaching to virtual education and simulated experiences. Therefore, research is needed to determine how this change affected nursing students' academic performance and their performance on standardized exams. The purpose of this three-part study, guided by…

The Major Field Test in Business (MFTB) is a nationally administered student evaluation that measures the accumulated knowledge of undergraduates enrolled in a four-year degree program. Research to date has focused primarily on understanding how different variables correlate with performance on this standardized test -- such as student grades,…

Test-optional and test-blind admissions policies accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic would appear to imperil College Board's SAT college-entrance exam, the rival ACT, and their respective parent organizations. This state of affairs follows years of complaints that the exams favor the affluent. And, in fact, both of the notoriously secretive…

A decline in the completion rates of a radiography program not attributed to students' life events indicated the need to examine the program admission process. The use of standardized test scores in conjunction with other program admission requirements has not resulted in 100% program completion. The radiography program's leaders, sponsored by…

Research on the use of standardized test scores in higher education reveals significant variations in attitudes and perceptions of language proficiency tests among test score users. Most test score users have limited knowledge about test score interpretations in terms of what English as additional language (EAL) students typically know and can do…

Admission to colleges and universities has sparked much interest over time. There are articles, books, and even movies designed to shed light on the process of being admitted to institutions. One component of the application process that has drawn a lot of attention is the use of standardized test scores. There are both advocates and critics of…

School counselors play a vital role in promoting students' development in academic, career, and social/emotional domains. Professional organizations and educational partners have advocated for equitable access to school counselors and school counseling services by all students from pre-K through 12th grade. However, recent controversies have…

Despite its importance as a core counselling competency, less attention is given to career counselling than to other counselling specialties and it is often dismissed as a non-essential category in the counselling field. Because students' perceptions of career counselling are affected by peer and faculty attitudes it is important to examine the…

Standardized tests like the ACT® provide a common basis for comparison of students across schools and states and have been a key point of consideration in postsecondary admissions for over 60 years. Research has shown that, in general, test preparation has a small but positive effect on standardized test scores. In this study, we focused on how…

This study was designed to determine if a relationship exists between placement assessment scores and student attrition for first year college students at a technical college in the Midwest. The data included de-identified student scores on four standardized assessments used by the school for admissions and course determination, as well as various…

In many U. S. universities, international students whose second language is English follow one of two admission paths: 1) the traditional admission path, where students apply directly to the university for full admission; or 2) the conditional admission path, where they can apply to the university's intensive English program (IEP) and be granted…