Typically, only a minority of applicants to health professional training are invited to interview. However, pre-interview measures of cognitive skills predict for national licensure scores (Gauer et al. in "Med Educ Online" 21 2016) and subsequently licensure scores predict for performance in practice (Tamblyn et al. in "JAMA"…

Typically, only a minority of applicants to health professional training are invited to interview. However, pre-interview measures of cognitive skills predict for national licensure scores (Gauer et al. in "Med Educ Online" 21 2016) and subsequently licensure scores predict for performance in practice (Tamblyn et al. in "JAMA"…

In a follow-up to a previously published study (Epstein, Schmidt, & Warfel, 2008), an ethnically-diverse sample of 13,578 people in 47 countries (mainly the United States and Canada) took an online test that measures 4 trainable competencies that have been shown to enhance creative expression in individuals. The new study confirmed that the…

While e-learning is now characterized by a past and trends within that past, there continues to be uncertainty about how e-learning is defined and conceptualized, whether or not we like e-learning, and whether or not it is as meaningful to us as face to face learning. The purpose of this study was to document the e-learning perceptions of students…

The Violence Risk Scale (VRS) uses ratings of static and dynamic risk predictors to assess violence risk, identify targets for treatment, and assess changes in risk following treatment. The VRS was rated pre- and posttreatment on a sample of 150 males, mostly high-risk violent offenders many with psychopathic personality traits. These individuals…

A consistent finding from many reviews is that undergraduate Grade Point Average (uGPA) is a key predictor of academic success in medical school. Curiously, while uGPA has established predictive validity, little is known about its reliability. For a variety of reasons, medical schools use different weighting schemas to combine years of study.…

The effectiveness of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) in providing estimates for predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism over a 9-year period is examined. The SAQ is a quantitative risk/need instrument consisting of 72 items that compose eight subscales. There were 657 federally sentenced Canadian male offenders who completed the SAQ…

A procedure for predicting categorical outcomes using categorical predictor variables was described by Moonan. This paper describes a related technique which uses prior probabilities, updated by joint likelihoods, as classification criteria. The procedure differs from Moonan's in that the outcome having the greatest posterior probability is…

The use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for predicting academic success has generated tremendous debate about fairness and bias. Despite discrepant observations and arguments, the need for a credible assessment formula remains strong. Although widely used by a large number of American colleges, the SAT and similar tests are not widely used…

To evaluate the usefulness of standardized achievement tests in assessing pre-university academic achievement and aptitude, the Council of Ontario Universities administered tests to incoming freshmen at four Ontario universities, and also examined their high school and subsequent university performance. The tests were designed to measure…

Describes a survey of 356 adult students enrolled in university-level courses at the Open Learning Institute which was conducted to assess the predictive validity of Tinto's theoretical model of student dropout. It was found that, overall, the Tinto model appears to be a useful framework for such investigations. (Author/LRW)

This follow-up study helped determine the predictive validity of parent and teacher ratings and scores from the Early Identification Assessment Battery. This assessment involved a random selection of 4-year-old children scheduled to enter a French immersion program in the Ottawa, Canada, school system. In the spring of grade 1, 63% of the original…

Indices of motivation and demand developed to forecast postsecondary enrollment in Manitoba, Canada, are described. The indices were tested with surveys of more than 14,000 high school students with respect to actual outcomes and validated by surveying more than 5,000 students. The theoretical basis of the indices, their use in enrollment…