Correlation of College Freshman Chemistry Marks with Some California Mental Maturity Test Scores

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine to what extent college freshman chemistry marks correlate with scores made on the California Test of Mental Maturity. An auxilliary objective of this small piece of research was to ascertain to what degree these scores might be used as predictors of success in college freshman chemistry. Hazel and Oberly' found reliability coefficients of correlation of 41.35 and 54.53 respectively between chemistry grades and the verbal and mathematical sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board. Merzbacher2 obtained a coefficient of correlation of .447 of chemistry grades with the quantitative section of American Council on Education Psychological Examination. An examination of Table I will indicate the respective scores made by the twenty members of a college freshman chemistry class at St. John's College during the school year of 1950-51. The students are identified by the rank they occupied in the class at the end of the first semester. All students took the California Test of Mental Maturity as freshmen; however, some were sophomores when they took the chemistry course. Those students with an x behind the identifying number did not enroll for the second semester of the course. While all A's may seem equal, yet the