Abstract
PurposeThis study examines the test's predictive validity of English language performance and compares test constructs to identify the most effective predictors of English language performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected and analysed from test scores of students enrolled in the foundation year (N = 84) and level 2 (N = 127) in the faculty of English at a Saudi university using correlation and regression tests.FindingsThe findings revealed that the General Aptitude Test (GAT) is effective in predicting English performance for students in level 2 and that the error detection task is the most effective predictor of performance in English reading.Practical implicationsThe study provides support for the validity of the GAT as a university admission requirement for English language courses in the Arabic-speaking world.Originality/valueThis study examines the GAT's power using a fine-grained approach by deriving scores from its breakdown constructs to predict the performance of English skills at the university level.
Highlights
Higher education in Saudi Arabia and the general aptitude test In response to the high number of applications for university admission in Saudi Arabia and the uncertainty related to the reliability of high school exams and because of the inflation of its grades (Al Saud, 2009; NCA, 2018), the government commissioned the National Centre for Assessment (NCA) to “provide comprehensive and integrated solutions that scientifically measure and evaluate knowledge, skills, and aptitude with the purpose of achieving fairness, maintaining quality and satisfying development needs” (NCA, 2018, line 1)
Responding to the observation made by Alanazi (2014) that General Aptitude Test (GAT) score can be a stronger predictor for each of its sections or as a total score and his findings that GAT explains 13.2% of variances in the Grade Point Average (GPA); the present study reports higher variances, at 17.6 and 19.1%
The findings stand in contrast to Alghamdi and Al-Hattami’s (2014) findings that the GAT did not predict students’ university GPAs in a humanities faculty (College of Education) while it did in science faculties even though they found that the GAT score can predict when it is weighted with other variables, such as high school grade
Summary
Higher education in Saudi Arabia and the general aptitude test In response to the high number of applications for university admission in Saudi Arabia and the uncertainty related to the reliability of high school exams and because of the inflation of its grades (Al Saud, 2009; NCA, 2018), the government commissioned the National Centre for Assessment (NCA) to “provide comprehensive and integrated solutions that scientifically measure and evaluate knowledge, skills, and aptitude with the purpose of achieving fairness, maintaining quality and satisfying development needs” (NCA, 2018, line 1). The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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