University admissions tests should predict an applicant's ability to succeed in college, but how should this success be defined and measured? The status quo has been to use 1st-year grade point average (FYGPA) as the key indicator of college success, but a review of documents such as university mission statements reveals that universities expect…

Objectives: To evaluate an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) adapted for social work in a lab course and examine the degree to which it predicts competence in the practicum. Method: 125 Masters students participated in a one-scenario OSCE and wrote responses to standardized reflection questions. OSCE performance and reflections were…

This article outlines shortcomings of currently used university admissions tests and discusses ways in which they could potentially be improved, summarizing two projects designed to enhance college and university admissions. The projects were inspired by the augmented theory of successful intelligence, according to which successful intelligence…

In 2005, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned to evaluate the potential value of using an aptitude test as an additional tool in the selection of candidates for admission to higher education (HE). This five-year study is co-funded by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), the Department for…

Discusses the pros and cons of using aptitude/IQ tests with preschoolers to predict later school performance. Condensed from "Early Years," April 1981, pp24-25. (SJL)

In two college counseling client samples, 29 two-need Edwards Personal Preference Scale (EPPS) patterns were found to occur frequently, 13 involving high achievement. The prediction of college grades in these two samples was studied utilizing these EPPS patterns, a set of traditional aptitude/achievement measures, and patterns combined with…

Paper presented at the International Seminar on Experimental Research in Music Education (University of Reading, Reading, England, July 9-16, 1968).

The pattern of correlations between subtests suggests that several of the aptitudes are of doubtful validity. In no case was it possible to extract more than three adequately determined factors. (Author)

This study compared handicapped with able-bodied university freshmen to determine if high school rank and aptitude test scores were valid predictors of college grades for the handicapped. The subjects were 17 female and 32 male severely handicapped students enrolled at the University of Missouri. Analysis of high school rank (HSR), School and…

Students in science and non-science departments of the State University College, Buffalo, were given the Survey of Object Visualization, a test designed to measure aptitude to visualize objects when disassembled and in various positions. Science majors scored significantly higher than non-science students. Within the science group, different bands…

The publication reports on a statistical analysis of educational level as it affects the prediction of enlisted performance in Army training courses. Samples of the men at each of four educational levels were formed: non-high school graduation, high school graduation, some college, and college graduation. Using the Gulliksen-Wilks analysis of…

An analysis of a dictionary definition of "aptitude" could clear up several prevalent misunderstandings of the concept. Nothing inherent in the concept assumes that aptitudes are hereditary; aptitude is the result of the interaction of heredity and environment. "Apritude" has a broad definition; it includes intelligence, achievement, personality,…

Three studies of dynamic testing of spatial aptitude were performed with training on the physical analogue of the mental task between the pre-test and the post-test. A total of 129 college students participated. Training increased spatial ability. Other experiments indicated that construct validity was influenced by dynamic testing. (SLD)