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…

A study that addressed the question of whether coaching for the MCAT biases the relationship between test performance and medical school performance is described. The criterion used was whether or not a student experienced academic problems in medical school. (MLW)

The effects of student coaching in preparation for the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) on the predictive validity of this test for freshman year performance were studied using data on 1985 freshman year students from four colleges. After the validity of the SAT was estimated for each school, a given proportion of students was picked,…

Contrary to findings of the Educational Testing Service and the College Board, the authors contend that coaching can effectively help raise student scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). They argue that the SAT is not in fact a measure of "aptitude" and that high school grades and achievement tests are better predictors of…

Studies conducted by the United States Military Academy and Air Force Academy showed that many cadets who had attended preparatory schools which prepared high school graduates for college admission performed below what had been predicted by their scores on college entrance examinations. Based on these findings, about 1,200 students from 10…

A non-experimental design was used to determine if scores of students enrolled in specified major coaching schools were significantly higher than scores of comparable uncoached groups. Score increases at two Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) coaching schools and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) schools were compared. Over 1,400 SAT examinees and…