Policy makers, school practitioners, and scholars around the world have been searching for better school improvement models. The purpose of this study was to understand how an instrument we developed, Orientation to School Renewal, can be used to predict school-level academic achievement. We used the instrument to predict the academic performance…

Critical thinking is necessary for academic success in higher education. Hence, universities seek various ways to integrate it in the programs to enhance the productivity of their graduates. This study presents the development of a predictive model for critical thinking ability using a combination of background, demographic, and psycho-educational…

The RP Group's Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) produced this technical report as part of a series on how California's community colleges can ensure more English learners (ELs) successfully complete "gateway" English coursework -- courses that satisfy the English writing requirements for completion of an associate's degree as…

The selection for the best candidates for the nursing profession from a large group of applicants into a small number of program openings for associate degree nursing programs poses a critical task for nursing administration and faculty. Admission criteria vary throughout nursing programs. The selection criteria need to target students that will…

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has prioritized efforts to support students' social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies, such as perseverance and social awareness. To measure students' SEL competencies and the school experiences that promote SEL competencies (school climate), DCPS began administering annual surveys to…

In the context of college admissions, the current study examined whether differential prediction of first-year grade point average (FYGPA) by gender could be explained by an omitted variable problem--namely, academic discipline, or the amount of effort a student puts into schoolwork and the degree to which a student sees him/herself as hardworking…

Admission criteria can be used to predict Saudi student performance in college, but significant differences across several studies exists. This study explores the predictive power of admission criteria for college assignment using King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences as a model. Scores from high school and standardized tests were…

This study aims to identify which socio-economic status (SES) variables have the best predictive validity for academic achievement, based on the international data sets of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012, 2009, 2006, and 2003. From among 10 SES measures, two composite variables - Index of economic, social and…

Although most international students arrive with required language qualifications, many struggle with the linguistic demands of their programmes. This study explored whether the test-preparation industry undermines the qualifications with which students arrive. English proficiency of 153 Chinese student in the UK was tested on the Duolingo English…

The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate the validity of traditional admissions criteria--UGPA and GRE scores--in predicting academic success for students admitted to a counselor education program in the United States. In contrast to prior research, we also included the newer GRE-Analytical Writing scores in our analyses. In general, we found…

Educational Testing Service (ETS), working with 21 U.S. law schools, evaluated the predictive validity of the GRE® General Test using a sample of 1,587 current and graduated law students. Results indicated that the GRE is a strong, generalizably valid predictor of first-year law school grades and that it provides useful information even when…

States and districts need ways of measuring principal performance that correctly identify effective principals. Unfortunately, existing research offers little guidance to policymakers on which types of performance measures provide valid information about principals' contributions to student achievement. States have therefore had to develop…

A good analysis of the success factors in the university entrance exam, which is an important step for academic careers of students, is believed to help them manage this process. Properties such as self-regulation and learning approaches adopted by students undoubtedly influence their academic achievement as well as their success in university…

Student learning objectives (SLOs) have become an increasingly popular tool for teacher evaluations as an alternative to Value-added Models (VAMs). However, the use of SLOs faces two major challenges. First, the target setting is mostly subjective and arbitrary. Second, there is little evidence on the reliability and validity of the tool. In this…

The validity of traditional opinion-based student evaluations of teaching (SETs) may be compromised by inattentive responses and low response rates due to evaluation fatigue, and/or by personal response bias. To reduce the impact of evaluation fatigue and personal response bias on SETs, this study explores peer prediction-based SETs as an…