John W. French

Effect of Coaching on an Aptitude Test

to various kinds of &dquo;coaching&dquo; to help their students get high scores. Much has been written recently in England on the coaching problem in connection with the &dquo;11-year tests.&dquo; Vernon (21, pp. 269-280; 22), Yates (25), and others (3, 6, 15, 16, 23) seem to agree that coaching produces a rise in test scores, but they differ in their interpretations of the importance of this effect and on the advisability of making coaching legal. Vernon’s review indicates a few hours of coaching and practice will produce the maximum achievable results, about nine IQ pointsless for test-sophisticated students and more for test-naive students.

Comparative Prediction of College Major-Field Grades By Pure-Factor Aptitude, Interest, and Personality Measures

This is a multi-variable validity study undertaken to find out how useful pure-factor tests can be for the comparative prediction of success in college fields of study. The decision was made to use pure-factor tests in order to insure low intercorrelations among the tests and, thus, to make possible the differential validities that are necessary for differential prediction. The results of the study have lead to the development of a research multi-factor battery intended to be useful eventually in academic counseling. Comparative prediction is the term used when it is desirable to compare the predicted level on a criterion in several fields: it represents a desire for both the prediction of absolute levels and the prediction of differences. In this article (1) the predictor variables will be described; (2) their validities for success in several fields will be reported; and (3) evaluations will be made of the absolute and differential prediction obtained.

Effect of Anxiety on Verbal and Mathematical Examination Scores

validity of the test. It is important also to consider the question of how to heighten desirable emotional states and how to avoid undesirable ones. Although no attempt was made in this experiment to alter the subjects’ reactions, it was felt that a first step would be taken toward doing this by asking students what they become anxious about and by obtaining information on what groups of students are most strongly affected by the pressures put on them by an examination. It was thought, for example, that in some people fear of failure may facilitate preparation for a test, may key a person up to unusual effectiveness during the test, or may inspire great effort to obtain high grades in college. On the other hand, for other people fear of failure might have an inhibiting effect on any or all of these. Although there is a considerable literature on anxiety and its correlates, room is still left for speculation on the effect of anxiety on test scores, because a direct comparison of the same students

Aptitude and Interest Score Patterns Related to Satisfaction With College Major Field

IT seems reasonable that a good way to evaluate the miseness of a college student’s choice of a major field is to wait until he is about to graduate and ask him how satisfied he is with the field he chose. This was done by a questionnaire asking students about their original choice of major field and for their present opinions about the choice that mas made. Of importance here is the response of the studen& to the question: “If you had it to do all over again, what field would you choose?” College seniors answered this question by checking on a list the major field in which they wished they had majored. With respect to each major field, this divide’d the students into three groups :

Comparative Prediction of High-School Grades by Pure-Factor Aptitude, Information, and Personality Measures

THIS validity study followed closely the procedure used for the college-level study described in French (1963). It was carried out to find how useful pure-factor tests can be for comparative prediction (i.e., differential and absolute prediction) of grades in highschool fields of study. The results of the study have led to the development of a research multifactor battery intended to be useful eventually in academic counseling in the eighth or ninth grades. In this article (1) the predictor variables will be described, (2) their validities for success in several high-school courses will be reported, and (3) evaluations will be made of the absolute and differential prediction obtained.

A technique for criterion-keying and selecting test items

For multiple-choice tests where noa priori key exists, the initial selection of a key for maximum validity may be made on the basis of the number of persons choosing each alternative and their mean criterion score. The keying formula is derived. Once the initial keying has been done, further precision in keying and item selection may use, in addition, the mean total test score for persons choosing each alternative. Item-selection formulas suggested by Horst and by Gulliksen for maximizing test validity are both in the form of a ratio, an “item-validity index” divided by an “item-reliability index.” The formula derived here is shown to be equivalent to the numerators of these formulas. The expression in the denominators uses the total test score. Although a radical appears in the denominator of Horsts formula and not in the denominator of Gulliksens formula, both of them select the same items in practice.

The validity of a persistence test

In order to raise the predictive efficiency of its college entrance test battery, the Educational Testing Service is working on the development of non-academic measures to supplement the standard aptitude and achievement examinations. A test of difficult number series problems was set up to measure persistence by tempting the students to give up early; the students were informed that some of the problems had no solution, and that full credit would be received by so marking them. This test was tried out and found to have some correlation with grades, while having no correlation with the other tests. Adding this test to the battery showed an appreciable rise in the batterys multiple correlation with grades.

Analysis of Criteria for the Validation of Selection Measures at the United States Coast Guard Academy

SELECTION criteria have received wide attention [for example, Bechtold (i), Thorndike (7)]. Two of the important problems under continuous consideration have been (a) the analysis of criteria for purposes of identification and measurement, and (b) the discovery and utilization of personality and adjustment criteria in training or educational situations. Studies concerning these problems have been conducted at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The psychological program at the Coast Guard Academy has been in operation since 1942 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Investigations on the selection of Regular Cadets (potential career officers) have utilized both academic and personality criteria. From the beginning of the program, studies have indicated that selection

The Validity of Some Objective Personality Tests for a Leadership Criterion

AT the U. S. Coast Guard Academy the cadets are assigned ratings on traits representing cooperation, performance, fitness, attitude, and other qualities of leadership. The ratings are assigned by officers, upperclassmen, and classmates. Substantial correlations have been found between the different types of ratings and between the different classes of raters. A single quality of the cadets seems to be in question, and i t has been found to be relatively independent of course grades and entrance tests (6). This quality has been called “adaptability to the service” at the Coast Guard Academy. Joseph M. Bobbitt and Sidney H. Newman initiated systematic research on the adaptability rating system a t the Academy. Malcolm J. Williams, now Academy Psychologist, is continuing its development and is the one who administered this program a t the Academy. He helped to plan the project, served as supervisor at the administration of the tests, and was responsible for the securing of the criterion scores. The experimental tests given in the Summer of 1949 to the entering class of 1953 represent one of several series of tests developed in an attempt to predict the adaptability criterion by means of group testing methods. The variables included in this report are eight experimental tests having a total of nineteen scores, two regular academic entrance examination scores, and three criterion variables derived from the cadet’s first year a t the Academy. The number of cadets having scores on all 24 variables is 104.

An Analysis of Course Grades

are usually taken hopefully as measures of a student’s achievement in the work of the course. However, to the extent that the instructor uses grades to control discipline or to insure promptness in completing assignments, they are measures of something else. They also measure something else to the extent that &dquo;halo&dquo; causes the grade to be affected by the students’ personalities or their grades in other courses. Where the grading has been done by more than one teacher, or where grades from more than one school are involved, the differences in the methods of teaching and of grading are usually serious. Added to these troubles is the unreliability of most course grades resulting from the use of essay testing, test questions that have not been pre-tested, and frequent lack of interest in grading on the part of the instructor. In spite of all the shortcomings of the course grade it is, with few exceptions, either the best measure or the only measure we have of achievement in courses. Standardized tests