The relationships between teachers' attitudes toward responsibility and locus of control and other characteristics such as stress, educational attitudes, and attitudes toward change were studied in 54 (35 female and 19 male) experienced primary and secondary school teachers taking a course on classroom-based research. Attitude toward…

A study was conducted at the City University of New York (CUNY) to identify the variables that distinguish students who persist through their first and into their second year of college from those who drop out along the way. Retention survey forms were sent to 2,063 students admitted to career programs in fall 1979 and to 3,291 students admitted…

Piagetian levels of 126 volunteers (60 males and 66 females) were measured using the Burney Logical Reasoning Test. Findings demonstrated that the six predictor variables succeeded in explaining 58% (pooled male/female sample), 53% (female sample), and 59% (male sample) of the variance in Piagetian cognitive levels. In addition, since prediction…

A recent decline in the ability to predict first-year grade point average using the traditional regression analyses incorporating Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) and high school rank as predictors fostered an investigation of the effectiveness of alternative procedures to predict academic success. Four procedures were investigated and compared,…

Published reports and papers pertaining to the validity of measures commonly used at college entrance are reviewed and summarized in this report. These measures consist of various types of academic quantitative indices used to describe the high school record and various types of academic tests. The data are categorized by sex and ethnic…

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude and Advanced Tests were evaluated as predictors of a dichotomous criterion of whether or not the candidate attained the doctorate within a specified length of time. More specifically, the project attempted to define subgroups for which the GRE tests have varying degrees of validity, and to provide…

The Mink Scale is designed to differentiate between potential dropout and non-dropout students at the junior high school level. Items of the scale represent social, psychological, and educational factors established in previous dropout studies. A pilot study in five Appalachian counties compared scale responses for 189 (dropouts) former students…

The usefulness of kindergarten screening methods in predicting first grade achievement was studied in 246 children with English or Spanish as the home language. Results support the hypothesis that the predictive validity of kindergarten measures varied as a function of the predominant language in the home. (SLD)

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)

A 2-year study of 206 college students at an urban research university in a southern state examined personal, environmental, academic, and non-academic predictors of: (1) course grade performance; and (2) academic retention. Of particular interest were "high-risk" or "disadvantaged" students and how they compensated for their…

A study of the intellectual talents involved in learning a foreign language compared the composite predicted score of high school students on the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery with selected factor scores on the Structure of Intellect-Learning Abilities Test to determine whether any of the factors correlate highly with foreign language…

A major concern for those in higher education is whether the instruments they use for screening students are valid and predictive. Of particular interest is whether a grammar test, used in many institutions to screen students for developmental English, and a reading comprehension test, used to screen students for developmental reading, truly…

Based on data collected from the 1,288 students who enrolled at Kapiolani Community College as first-time freshmen in Fall 1979, a study was undertaken to determine the characteristics of new students that are predictive of two dependent variables: (1) second semester enrollment, and (2) a first semester grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above.…

Data from the National Science Foundation Fellowship applicant records and the NRC Office of Scientific Personnel Doctorate Records File were utilized to evaluate the potential of GRE Aptitude and Advanced Tests as predictors of whether or not the candidate attained the doctorate within a period of from seven to ten years. In addition, the study…

This study appraised the validity of SAT scores, in combination with grades in high school courses and the number and difficulty level of these courses, in predicting college grades in various fields of study, with the objective of providing SAT takers with predictions of their academic performance in different fields for guidance purposes. The…