This study of test bias used Black, Oriental, Chicano, and White students to answer two questions: (1) Is grade point average prediction for Chicanos and Orientals similar to prediction for Blacks and Whites? and (2) Does major field mediate ethnic differences in test performance? (Author/BW)

Describes efforts to design a method of assessing community college students' entry-level writing skills, which compared the predictive validity of three methods of evaluating writing skills: writing samples, objective tests, and self-assessments. Results of these scores were correlated with students' success in writing courses. (CAM)

The predictive validity of several mathematics and language variables relative to criteria of grade point average and word problem-solving skills for 60 bilingual Hispanic technical students is investigated. Examination of standardized college admission criteria is urged. Revealed is a disparity in academic performance between bilingual and…

Criticism of the use of standardized tests in postsecondary education centers on: using test scores as the sole or main criterion for admission; scoring practices used for normative or grading functions rather than for diagnosis; and tracking students into different types of postsecondary institutions. (MH)

An analysis of the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and its relationship to the criterion of class standing achieved in the school year ending in the spring of 1979 has been undertaken by the University of California, Irvine, to determine the MCAT's predictive power so that test results can be used in admissions procedure. (Author/JMD)

The theory of culturally biased test scores is discussed, in terms of both the Bakke case and the theory's broader societal implications. Literature addressing the problem of test bias is reviewed. Remedies for predictive invalidity are proposed. The importance of thorough documentation in court litigation concerning this issue is stressed.…

Thirteen predictors of self-reported high school leadership were investigated using data from the Project TALENT sample of high school seniors. The high school leader was characterized as mature, interested in business management, self-confident, socially sensitive, vigorous, and having high socioeconomic status. Cognitive variables were not…

Sections of the Comprehensive Ability Battery, the High School Personality Questionnaire, and the School Motivation Analysis Test were administered to a sample of tenth grade students. Correlations of these measures with end of year grades and among each other are presented. (JKS)

Tested the hypothesis that phonological mediation plays a critical role in the early development of reading and spelling in French. The findings corroborated predictions regarding performance involving pseudowords of different syllablic structures except for the failure to find differences between open and closed syllables. Results confirmed the…

Describes a study conducted at Kirkwood Community College, Iowa, to determine if student scores on the American College Testing Program's Assessment of Student Skills for Entry Transfer (ASSET) placement test could help identify potential dropouts among vocational students and to compare the predictive validity of high school grades and ASSET…

The validity of Tinto's model of college withdrawal was investigated with 100 4-year public college women and 165 2-year private college women. Institutional commitment was most directly affected by social integration. This commitment was seen as pivotal to retention. (IAH)

The reliability of a method of adjusting grade point averages for differences in college-departmental grading standards was examined, using 409 female and 518 male Dartmouth graduates. Such adjustments' effects on predictive validity of high-school grades, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and achievement test scores were assessed, including gender…

Examines what linguistic devices speakers use to make an entity salient in a discourse and how they re-refer to discourse entities moving in and out of focus. Speakers' center of attention was manipulated via a videotaped basketball game. Speakers referred to prominent entities as subjects; when they referred to them as objects, they repeated the…

Examined the reliability and validity of the Work Sampling System (WSS) for evaluating the schoolwork of 100 kindergarten children. Results indicated that the WSS checklist and summary report had very high internal and moderately high interrater reliability. The WSS accurately predicted the performance of the children on a norm-referenced…

Assessed correlations between 415 first graders' scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), and their scores on standardized achievement tests in mathematics and reading in grades 3, 6, 9, and 10. Concluded that the MRT has potential for contributing to readiness decisions in early grades. (MM)