Examines the admission criteria, placement test scores, and final examination scores of students at Oxford and Cambridge Universities for statistical evidence of gender and social inequality inherent in the system. Discovers irrefutable evidence of inequity among test scores and offers several explanations for this. (MJP)

Selection criteria at a graduate school of business were examined in a study evaluating the predictive validity of the Graduate Management Admissions Test and the Miller Analogies Test for 203 recent graduates. Implications of the correlations between test results and grade point average for admission policy are discussed. (SLD)

The University of Louisville (Kentucky) adopted a policy of using American College Test (ACT) scores and high school grades as admission criteria, while allowing students who did not qualify an opportunity to demonstrate their actual level of preparation through additional testing and an interview. This study of 508 minimum admission applicants…

Comprehensive or nonselective schools have been in existence in the United Kingdom for over 40 years, having gradually replaced the old selective system of grammar schools for able pupils and secondary modern schools for less able pupils. In spite of their growth in numbers, comprehensive schools have been subject to continual controversy, and…

Analyzes data collected from freshman at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) between 1989 and 1992. Suggests that high school records (grade point average and number of courses completed) are a better predictor of academic success than entrance examinations. Discusses technical aspects of the study and social implications of its results. (MJP)

This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research designs to analyze and evaluate procedures used in selecting youth for state-supported residential high schools for mathematics and science. Pre-admission and post-admission data were gathered for 742 students in 7 schools. Predictor variables included home school grade point…

This study outlines and evaluates the admissions policies and procedures devised for evaluating applicants to the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. The procedures utilized a holistic file review process that required applications to be evaluated in the context of their local regions. Complete student files, which included…

Policymakers adopt basic skills tests as admission requirements for programs of teacher education to increase the accuracy of admissions and, ultimately, to increase the competence of the teaching force. The tests are regarded as an independent measure of student academic competence. A multiple regression study of the incremental predictive…

A model of attrition for specially admitted black students (low high school achievement and low assessed college aptitude) at the University of Pittsburgh was tested. The majority fell into the lower end of a socioeconomic range and often had inadequate precollege preparation. The attrition model was examined using a linear structural equation…

The summer "bridge" part of the Special Transitional Enrichment Program (STEP) at the University of California (UC), Davis, was evaluated with attention to first-year academic performance and retention. STEP, part of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), is an orientation and academic program to help low-income and minority students…

A study was conducted to evaluate the admission criteria being used by the Connecticut Regional Vocational Technical Schools for the years 1977-1979, in an attempt to determine whether or not admission criteria and success in school could be used to predict second- and third-year grades. In addition, a pilot study was developed to follow up…

This collection of papers includes: "The Demography of Racial and Ethnic Groups" (Stephan Thernstrom); "Immigration and Group Relations" (Reed Ueda); "What Americans Think about Race and Ethnicity" (Everett C. Ladd); "Wresting with Stigma" (Shelby Steele); "Residential Segregation Trends" (William…

A survey examined college and later-life experiences of over 35,000 students who entered 28 selective colleges in fall 1976 and fall 1989. Although half the 3,000 black students surveyed would have been rejected under race-neutral admissions criteria, they did exceedingly well after college. Almost 80% of white graduates favored retaining or…

Discusses the attempt, during China's Cultural Revolution (1968-1976), to sever links between school performance, often dependent on social class, and admission to higher education and resulting upward mobility. Most students then felt it useless to study because success or failure at school work had no bearing on their future. (MH)

A St. Louis University study compared performances of 602 regular medical students with 52 high-risk but promising students admitted through a special program. Results indicated that, despite some differences in performance, particularly in certain courses and on standardized and licensing exams, the latter group could complete professional degree…