Policymakers adopt basic skills tests as admission requirements for programs of teacher education to increase the accuracy of admissions and, ultimately, to increase the competence of the teaching force. The tests are regarded as an independent measure of student academic competence. A multiple regression study of the incremental predictive…

The College Discovery Summer Program (CDSP) is a 6-week program designed to bring students already accepted for admissions to Bronx Community College (BCC) onto campus prior to their first year at BCC. The curriculum component of the CDSP includes intensive courses in mathematics, reading, and writing, while the student development component is a…

A study was conducted to identify reading competency standards for students seeking admission to Pennsylvania teacher education programs. The study sought to determine if differences exist in: (1) reading levels, habits, and attitudes of the teacher candidate pool at large public universities, small public universities, and small private…

An attempt was made to relate college or university student performance with high school effectiveness. School effectiveness was measured in terms of the college performance of graduates, after controlling for academic aptitude. The data base consisted of freshmen at selected institutions of a large state university system (N=150,000). Steps in…

The Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) has been given to all students as an entry requirement into teacher education programs at Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville) since 1983. All students at the University are also required to take the American College Test (ACT). One of the questions in this study related to whether the same or…

The validity of several predictors was examined against multiple criteria of student program success. Subjects (N=437) were selected from about 800 students in the elementary teacher education program of a small California state university. Predictor variables for each subject included: (1) undergraduate grade point average (GPA); (2) subscale…

In response to decreasing nursing program enrollments, less qualified enrollees, and decreasing scores on the national licensing board exams, a study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to examine factors that might contribute to success or failure among students entering the nursing program. In order to identify "high risk"…

This paper investigates the problems of the impact of grouping on measuring academic performance. It focuses on inferences made from the group level to the individual level. Data for a large state college system with over 30 individual colleges is used. The problem of aggregation bias is studied using the analysis of covariance and is related to…

To examine the developmental process of communication competence and the resulting relationship between competence and college success, a longitudinal study of college students was undertaken. In this study, pertinent background factors and measures of communication skills were collected on the same population over the course of a student's…

Data relating to the characteristics and performance of Bakersfield College (BC) students who transferred to public four-year colleges and universities in California were gathered from the transfer institutions and analyzed. Study findings included the following: (1) first-time transfers from BC to the California State University and College…

The incidence of pregnancy among young teenagers has increased dramatically in the past several decades. Young single mothers are much more likely than others to leave school before graduation and to be unemployed and poor. This study was conducted to identify differences in completion, school attendance rates, and grades for secondary and adult…

The study reported here examined the long term impact of a bilingual program that was designed as a transitional program for children in elementary grades. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare two groups of Mexican-American tenth-grade students enrolled in a traditional high school where all subject matter was presented in English. The…

In 1988, a study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College to explain declining scores on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) since 1984. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether students had changed in terms of their basic skills at college entry, native language, needs for English as a Second Language instruction,…

Causal path analysis was used to determine the direct and indirect influences of intellectual ability, quality of instruction, achievement motivation, quantity of academic coursework, and time spent on homework on high school students' learning, as measured by their grade point averages (GPAs). Other relevant influences on grades were controlled.…

Multiple regression analysis was used to examine scores on the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) and pre-pharmacy grade point averages (GPAs) as predictors of academic success in pharmacy school. Separate analyses were made for White (n=471), Black (n=54), and Asian (n=96) subgroups, as well as for the total sample of 643 students who entered…