Research examined the hypothesis that predictive validity would be greater for a test given under stress instructions than for a test given under relax instructions. Ss were 254 education students in a graduate measurement course and 117 education students in an undergraduate measurement course. Ss were randomly assigned to the instructional…

A comparison of two forms of the College Entrance Examination Board's (CEEB) English Composition Test with four rhetoric final examinations in a basic English composition course indicated that the CEEB was more stable and yielded better item statistics while departmental examinations were more highly related to course grade. (Editor/JT)

The question of which set of scores for those students who retake the Medical College Admission Test yields a better predictive validity is addressed. Five sets were considered as predictors. Twenty-five criteria were used, including grades earned in the freshman and sophomore years. (Author/MLW)

Article discusses performance on tests of black and white employees in selected civil service and private industry jobs. Test results are then contrasted with actual job performance according to specific criteria and supervisors' evaluations. No tests used permitted valid prediction of job performance for both racial groups. (PD)

Using the Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Porteus Maze Tests with characteristic modifications, the feasibility of using measures of cognitive tempo were examined. The measures' contributions in predicting the work performance of institutionalized moderately-severely retarded subjects were no greater than conventional individual…

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) appears to be an effective predictor of school achievement for 31 English-speaking second-grade Mexican-American children. High Pearson product-moment correlations were obtained between MSCA and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. (Author/PN)

Explores the practice of basing college admissions decisions on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) over conventional achievement tests. Suggests that the SAT does not reward diligence, and the SAT implies that secondary school instruction is unimportant. Supports changing the admissions system to reward those who learn most in secondary school.…

The purpose of this study was to use multivariate techniques in a federally-regulated validation study, and compare the results obtained from zero-order correlations and multiple correlations with the results obtained using factor scores and canonical correlation. The subjects consisted of 51 applicants for the position of patrolman. (Author/CTM)

Computer-based Monte Carlo methods compared the predictive accuracy upon replication of regression of five complete and four incomplete factor score estimation methods. Prediction on incomplete factor scores showed better double cross-validated prediction accuracy than on complete scores. The unique unit-weighted factor score was superior among…

Finds that the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the Florida Kindergarten Screening Battery were highly similar as predictors of future reading ability for 59 5-year-old, low income, Mexican-American children. Perceptual performance subtests in both measures correlated better with reading ability than verbal subtests. (SV)

Describes a study examining the usefulness of both comprehensive assessment models (utilizing computerized placement tests, high school grade point averages [GPAs] and rank, and student characteristics) and reduced models for predicting community college GPA. Suggests that comprehensive measures, including both academic and nonacademic variables,…

The Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) is a widely used multiple-choice test battery of basic skills in reading, language, and mathematics. The Test of Applied Literacy Skills (TALS) is an applied literacy battery consisting of document, prose, and quantitative literacy tests. The central issue in this study was the relationship of the TABE and…

This paper reports the results of using a three-layer backpropagation artificial neural network to predict item difficulty in a reading comprehension test. Two network structures were developed, one with and one without a sigmoid function in the output processing unit. The data set, which consisted of a table of coded test items and corresponding…

The criterion most frequently used in studies designed to assess the predictive validity of measures used in college admission has been the freshman-year grade point average (GPA). It is not self-evident that the first-year GPA provides either a sufficient or a representative sample of a student's academic performance. Questions have been raised…