Predicting Academic Achievement and Counselling for Course Selection: An Examination of the Effectiveness of the Differential Aptitude Tests in Forecasting Year 12 Success

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Edwards

There is increasing tendency to use the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT) for course and career counselling with students in independent schools in Australia. The OAT profile and explanatory notes may also be forwarded to students and/or parents and it is of particular concern that the full explanation of means of interpreting the profile is often not clear to the naive client. Many clients view the profile as a combination of IQ report and predictor of future academic success. To provide professional counsellors with unequivocal evidence to support their explanations to such clients, and as entry to tertiary and to many TAPE courses in Australia, is by academic achievement score, the present study examined the predictive value of the DAT for academic achievement at the end of Year 12. It was concluded that the DAT may have some value in predicting marginal variations in academic achievement, over and above that predicted by measures of general mental ability, but that individual counselling on the nature of the DAT profile is needed to demonstrate to the naive client both the distorting effect of the CSA subtest and the inappropriateness of the view that any of the DAT measures may be seen as predictors of Tertiary Entrance Score.

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank L. Schmidt

In this article, I present a theory that explains the origin of sex differences in technical aptitudes. The theory takes as proven that there are no sex differences in general mental ability (GMA), and it postulates that sex differences in technical aptitude (TA) stem from differences in experience in technical areas, which is in turn based on sex differences in technical interests. Using a large data set, I tested and found support for four predictions made by this theory: (a) the construct level correlation between technical aptitude and GMA is larger for females than males, (b) the observed and true score variability of technical aptitude is greater among males than females, (c) at every level of GMA females have lower levels of technical aptitude, and (d) technical aptitude measures used as estimates of GMA for decision purposes would result in underestimation of GMA levels for girls and women. Given that GMA carries the weight of prediction of job performance, the support found for this last prediction suggests that, for many jobs, technical aptitude tests may underpredict the job performance of female applicants and employees. Future research should examine this question.


Author(s):  
Suman Kumari Katoch

Education instill in the child a sense of maturity and responsibility by bringing in him the desired changes according to his needs and demands of ever changing society, of which he is an integral part. The descriptive method of research was justified in view of the objective of the study. All the students of 10th class of district Shimla constituted the population of the study. From the selected district, 10 schools (5 - rural area school and 5 - urban area school) were taken on the basis of random sampling. In the third step 22 students were drawn randomly from 10th class of each school. The total sample was consists of 220 hundred urban and rural students. The investigator used General Mental Ability Test for data collection. The t-test statistical technique was used in this study. The rural and urban students do not differ significantly on the variable of academic achievement and intelligence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-513
Author(s):  
Ashley Bourque Meaux ◽  
Julie A. Wolter ◽  
Ginger G. Collins

Purpose This article introduces the Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Forum: Morphological Awareness as a Key Factor in Language-Literacy Success for Academic Achievement. The goal of this forum is to relate the influence morphological awareness (MA) has on overall language and literacy development with morphology acting as the “binding agent” between orthography, phonology, and semantics ( Perfetti, 2007 ) in assessment and intervention for school-aged children. Method This introduction provides a foundation for MA development and explores the influence MA has over the course of school-aged language and literacy development. Through summaries of the 11 articles in this forum, school-based speech-language pathologists will be able to convey the importance of MA to promote successful educational outcomes for kindergarten to adolescent students. The forum explores researcher-developed assessments used to help identify MA skill level in first- through eighth-grade students at risk for literacy failure to support instructional needs. The forum also provides school-based speech-language pathologists with details to design and implement MA interventions to support academic success for school-aged students with varying speech-language needs (e.g., dual language emersion, vocabulary development, reading comprehension) using various service delivery models (e.g., small group, classroom-based, intensive summer camps). Conclusion MA is effective in facilitating language and literacy development and as such can be an ideally focused on using multilinguistic approaches for assessment and intervention. The articles in this issue highlight the importance in assessment measures and intervention approaches that focus on students' MA to improve overall academic success in children of all ages and abilities.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frosso Motti-Stefanidi ◽  
Ann S. Masten

Academic achievement in immigrant children and adolescents is an indicator of current and future adaptive success. Since the future of immigrant youths is inextricably linked to that of the receiving society, the success of their trajectory through school becomes a high stakes issue both for the individual and society. The present article focuses on school success in immigrant children and adolescents, and the role of school engagement in accounting for individual and group differences in academic achievement from the perspective of a multilevel integrative model of immigrant youths’ adaptation ( Motti-Stefanidi, Berry, Chryssochoou, Sam, & Phinney, 2012 ). Drawing on this conceptual framework, school success is examined in developmental and acculturative context, taking into account multiple levels of analysis. Findings suggest that for both immigrant and nonimmigrant youths the relationship between school engagement and school success is bidirectional, each influencing over time the other. Evidence regarding potential moderating and mediating roles of school engagement for the academic success of immigrant youths also is evaluated.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebke Goertz ◽  
Ute R. Hülsheger ◽  
Günter W. Maier

General mental ability (GMA) has long been considered one of the best predictors of training success and considerably better than specific cognitive abilities (SCAs). Recently, however, researchers have provided evidence that SCAs may be of similar importance for training success, a finding supporting personnel selection based on job-related requirements. The present meta-analysis therefore seeks to assess validities of SCAs for training success in various occupations in a sample of German primary studies. Our meta-analysis (k = 72) revealed operational validities between ρ = .18 and ρ = .26 for different SCAs. Furthermore, results varied by occupational category, supporting a job-specific benefit of SCAs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason G. Randall ◽  
Anton J. Villado ◽  
Christina U. Zimmer

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to test for race and sex differences in general mental ability (GMA) retest performance and to identify the psychological mechanisms underlying these differences. An initial and retest administration of a GMA assessment separated by a six-week span was completed by 318 participants. Contrary to our predictions, we found that race, sex, and emotional stability failed to moderate GMA retest performance. However, GMA assessed via another ability test and conscientiousness both partially explained retest performance. Additionally, we found that retesting may reduce adverse impact ratios by lowering the hiring threshold. Ultimately, our findings reinforce the need for organizations to consider race, sex, ability, and personality when implementing retesting procedures.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000348942110043
Author(s):  
Austin L. Johnson ◽  
Adam Corcoran ◽  
Matthew Ferrell ◽  
Bradley S. Johnson ◽  
Scott E. Mann ◽  
...  

Objective: Scholastic activity through research involvement is a fundamental aspect of a physician’s training and may have a significant influence on future academic success. Here, we explore publication rates before, during, and after otolaryngology residency training and whether publication efforts correlate with future academic achievement. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included a random sample of 50 otolaryngology residency programs. From these programs, we assembled a list of residents graduating from the years in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Using SCOPUS, PubMed, and Google Scholar, we compiled the publications for each graduate, and data were extracted in an independent, double-blinded fashion. Results: We included 32 otolaryngology residency programs representing 249 residents in this analysis. Graduates published a mean of 1.3 (SD = 2.7) articles before residency, 3.5 (SD = 4.3) during residency, and 5.3 (SD = 9.3) after residency. Residents who pursued a fellowship had more total publications ( t247 = −6.1, P < .001) and more first author publications ( t247 = −5.4, P < .001) than residents without fellowship training. Graduates who chose a career in academic medicine had a higher number of mean total publications ( t247 = −8.2, P < .001) and first author publications ( t247 = −7.9, P < .001) than those who were not in academic medicine. There was a high positive correlation between residency program size and publications during residency ( r = 0.76). Conclusion: Research productivity correlated with a number of characteristics such as future fellowship training, the pursuit of an academic career, and overall h-index in this study.


Author(s):  
Ahmed Masrai ◽  
James Milton ◽  
Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs ◽  
Heba Elmenshawy

AbstractThis study investigates the idea that knowledge of specialist subject vocabulary can make a significant and measurable impact on academic performance, separate from and additional to the impact of general and academic vocabulary knowledge. It tests the suggestion of Hyland and Tse (TESOL Quarterly, 41:235–253, 2007) that specialist vocabulary should be given more attention in teaching. Three types of vocabulary knowledge, general, academic and a specialist business vocabulary factors, are tested against GPA and a business module scores among students of business at a college in Egypt. The results show that while general vocabulary size has the greatest explanation of variance in the academic success factors, the other two factors - academic and a specialist business vocabulary - make separate and additional further contributions. The contribution to the explanation of variance made by specialist vocabulary knowledge is double that of academic vocabulary knowledge.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Schmank ◽  
Sara Anne Goring ◽  
Kristof Kovacs ◽  
Andrew R. A. Conway

In a recent publication in the Journal of Intelligence, Dennis McFarland mischaracterized previous research using latent variable and psychometric network modeling to investigate the structure of intelligence. Misconceptions presented by McFarland are identified and discussed. We reiterate and clarify the goal of our previous research on network models, which is to improve compatibility between psychological theories and statistical models of intelligence. WAIS-IV data provided by McFarland were reanalyzed using latent variable and psychometric network modeling. The results are consistent with our previous study and show that a latent variable model and a network model both provide an adequate fit to the WAIS-IV. We therefore argue that model preference should be determined by theory compatibility. Theories of intelligence that posit a general mental ability (general intelligence) are compatible with latent variable models. More recent approaches, such as mutualism and process overlap theory, reject the notion of general mental ability and are therefore more compatible with network models, which depict the structure of intelligence as an interconnected network of cognitive processes sampled by a battery of tests. We emphasize the importance of compatibility between theories and models in scientific research on intelligence.


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