Entrance Score Research Articles

Professional competence in final-year dental undergraduates: assessment of students admitted by individualised selection and through traditional modes.

In 1993, a new admission system was introduced at the Dental School, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. One-third, and subsequently 60% of the students were admitted through an individualised selection system, and the remainder through traditional modes, using secondary school matriculation scores, or a university standard aptitude test. In this study, professional competence of final year undergraduates, assessed by faculty members, was related to mode of admission. The participating faculty members had tutored the students in the adult comprehensive care clinic for 1-3 semesters. 13 faculty members assessed students from 3 freshman intakes. A specially designed protocol was used, comprising 7 different criteria to be graded on a scale of 1 to 5, and one overall rating on a scale of 1 to 7. The faculty members were also asked to nominate which of the 7 criteria they considered most important for the overall rating: (A) knowledge, (B) initiative, (C) responsibility and judgement, (D) patient contact, (E) clinical skills, (F) co-operative approach and (G) commitment and motivation. Responsibility and judgement (n=11) and knowledge (n=6) were rated as the most important criteria. The evaluation of professional competence using the overall rating as a score shows a better median value (M=5.5) for the individualised group than for the traditional group (M=5.0). There was little or no difference between the 2 groups in median values for the most important 2 criteria, (C and A), but for the individualised group, the interval for the inter-quartile range (IQR) was not only higher, but also more homogeneous. It is concluded that by final year, students originally admitted by individual selection seem to be more professionally competent than classmates admitted on traditional university entrance scores.

Need for Cognition and Cognitive Performance From a Cross-Cultural Perspective: Examples of Academic Success and Solving Anagrams

The cross-cultural validity of the Need for Cognition Scale and its relationship with cognitive performance were investigated in two studies. In the first study, the relationships between the scale and university entrance scores, course grades, study skills, and social desirability were examined. Using the short form of the Turkish version of the Need for Cognition Scale (S. Gülgöz & C. J. Sadowski, 1995) no correlation with academic performance was found but there was significant correlation with a study skills scale and a social desirability scale created for this study. When regression analysis was used to predict grade point average, the Need for Cognition Scale was a significant predictor. In the second study, participants low or high in need for cognition solved multiple-solution anagrams. The instructions preceding the task set the participants' expectations regarding task difficulty. An interaction between expectation and need for cognition indicated that participants with low need for cognition performed worse when they expected difficult problems. Results of the two studies showed that need for cognition has cross-cultural validity and that its effect on cognitive performance was mediated by other variables.

Improving the Retention Rates of Women in Computing: An Intervention Program

This article reports on an intervention program for women in the first year of a computing degree. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to evaluate the intervention program. The quantitative results revealed the most significant factors influencing success in the first programming course to be age, having studied mathematics in the final years of secondary school, followed by university entrance score, previous programming experience, type of degree, and year of study. The qualitative results showed that the participants appreciated the supportive environment provided by the intervention program. There was a sustained increase in retention rate after the program was introduced.

Predictability of Wage Ranking after 10 Years Based on Employment Entrance Scores and Evaluations

Predictability of Wage Ranking after 10 Years Based on Employment Entrance Scores and Evaluations

Religious Education and Prejudice among Students Taking the Course Studies of Religion

This article examines a study of a sample of Australian final year students who completed the New South Wales1 (NSW) Higher School Certificate (HSC) course Studies of Religion. It compares the attitudes of these students towards religion and religions with a similar sample of students who completed other final year religion courses. All the students in the sample were attending religiously affiliated schools for their senior years of study. This study was developed from an initial pilot study and the students completed an initial survey in the first term of their Year 11 and a second survey at the end of their third term in Year 12. The data were analysed using both SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and the qualitative data analysis solutions for research professionals, NUDIST2 (Non‐numerical Unstructured Data: Indexing, Searching and Theorizing). The article discusses the effect of formal study of religion on the attitude of students towards religion and other religions. 1 In Australia the education system is the responsibility of each State or Territory. In New South Wales (at the time of the study) the syllabus for all years of schooling was the responsibility of the Board of Studies. The final years of High School, Years 11‐12, are the post‐compulsory years but more than 75% of students complete these years. In New South Wales there is an external examination for all Board units of study at the end of Year 12 and the results of their best ten units are scaled and give the students a tertiary entrance score (TER). Students must complete a set number of units, each of which is worth 50%. Most subjects are offered as two‐unit courses although there are some in Maths and the Sciences which are at three or four‐unit level and some, including Studies of Religion, which are at one‐unit. The TER is used by universities and other tertiary providers as the basis of entry into various courses. Schools may also offer units that are locally developed but approved or endorsed by the Board; these Other Endorsed Studies are included on the students’ certificates but do not contribute towards their TER. 2 A computer package designed to aid users to manage, explore and search the text of documents; it allows the user to develop sets of categories and to cross‐index text items and then to explore and develop reports for cross referencing and for linkage of ideas.

Predictability of Wage Ranking Based on Employment Entrance Scores and Evaluations 10 Years after Employment

Predictability of Wage Ranking Based on Employment Entrance Scores and Evaluations 10 Years after Employment

Quality of School Life and Students' Achievement in the HSC: A Multilevel Analysis

THIS study examines the relationship between Year 12 students' perceptions of life in Catholic schools and their achievement in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examination. It investigates whether the quality of school life which students experience differs across Catholic schools and whether it still affects students' achievement in the HSC when school and student background variables are controlled. The study was conducted by surveying 4949 students from 44 Catholic high schools in New South Wales, in May 1990 regarding their perceptions of the quality of school life. Student achievement was measured by their Tertiary Entrance Score at the HSC examination in November 1990. The clear picture which emerges suggests that Catholic schools differ considerably in terms of students' HSC achievement and that the quality of school life which students experience in these schools has a significant impact on their academic achievement over and above student characteristics and background characteristics of the schools.

A Multicampus Study of First Year Accounting: An Australian Study

This study examines the performance of first year accounting students in a recently amalgamated tertiary institution which conducts a common accounting course across three campuses. Despite the uniformity in curriculum content there are distinct campus differences including tertiary entry cut off scores, teaching styles and contact hours. A multiple regression model has been employed to examine the impact on performance of student background (including tertiary entrance score, prior accounting knowledge, sex and motivation), perceptions of teaching and campus, in a first unit of accounting. The quantitative model is supplemented by qualitative data analysis of student perceptions of the course and the teaching. The findings of this study are that background variables including prior accounting knowledge, tertiary entrance score and motivation to study accounting are significant in explaining performance. Of the variables tested on student perceptions of teaching only one, memory, was significant in explaining performance of students. Differences were identified in student performance across campuses after controlling for student background and in the perceptions of teaching. Campus differences were attributed to the differences in contact hours on the three campuses. These findings have implications for accounting educators teaching first year accounting both in a single campus setting and those endeavouring to develop a common curriculum across campuses in the recently formed Unified National System.

Performance in first year university accounting: Quantifying the advantage of secondary school accounting

AbstractConsiderable research has been conducted into the relation between students' level of previous accounting knowledge and their subsequent performance in first year university‐level accounting. This study considers variables for academic performance and previous accounting knowledge in an attempt to quantify the advantage that high school accounting gives students entering tertiary business courses. The results indicate that for students entering tertiary courses with similar academic ability, i.e., obtained the same entrance score, the first year tertiary accounting result obtained by a student who studied accounting previously is between one and two grades higher than that of a student who did not study accounting at high school.

Sex Differences at the NSW Higher School Certificate after Adjustment for the Effects of Differential Selection

Sex differences in Higher School Certificate achievement were analysed by adjusting for differential selection. A general ability criterion, favouring neither sex, was developed by modifying the Tertiary Entrance Score (TES). For each course, sex differences in achievement were displayed over eight Key Learning Areas (KLAs). Contrary to many studies based on a more restricted set of courses, it was found that females outperformed males overall. In five KLAs, females outscored males; in two, the results were mixed; and in one (Mathematics) males outscored females. Although the female TES median was 15 marks higher, males performed slightly better at high TES levels. The explanation given was that males tend to specialise in more highly intercorrelated courses than females, which creates variance in their aggregate.

Predicting success in first-year university accounting using gender-based learning analysis

This study investigates whether secondary school accounting, mathematics and Tertiary Entrance score have any effect on the deep learning and surface learning components of the first-year university accounting examination. In addition, it examines whether these school factors have same relative predictive value in explaining the performance of male and female accounting students. Results show that while they were relevant in explaining success in the surface learning component, none of the perdictors had any significant predictive power for the deep learning component. Results also indicate that the performance of males was best explained by school accounting. On the other hand, the effect of general academic ability on female performance was greater than that of specific cognate subjects.

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

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.

Attitudinal and Environmental Influences on Preferences for Undergraduate Business Courses

Early research on the nature of university choice is found wanting in terms of depth of analysis and in application to the Australia situation. An application of Fishbien's Extended Multi-Attribute model supported the notion that students' expctations of enrolment in a university were more highly correlated with attitudes towards enrolment than attitudes towards the institution itself. Subjective Norms, the perceived views of significant others, were found to have a marginal influence. The relationship was mediated by situational constraints: expected Tertiary Entrance score and the amount of Information students felt they had about an institution. Demographic variables were found not to have a significant effect on expectations of enrolment in any particular university. Details of the survey and data analysis procedures are discussed and suggestions are made for further research.

Student progress: a study of the experience in Victorian tertiary institutions

The release of Professor Linke's report on performance indicators in Australia refocussed the attention of institutional researchers on an analysis of student inputs/outputs in tertiary institutions. Data files routinely despatched to the Department of Employment, Education and Training by all institutions were used in this study. The study examines the student progress unit (SPU), defined as the ratio of load successfully completed by the student to the total assessed student load by the student. The study examines the determinants of student progress units for bachelor courses in Victorian higher education institutions in 1990, as reported in 1991. Variables examined include discipline group, sex, age, tertiary entrance score, attendance type and other social indicators. It explores the implications of findings of the study to student admission policies and identifies possible areas of future research. The results of this study were first reported at the 3rd Australasian Association for Institutional Re...

Comparing the entrance scores of students in a postbaccalaureate preparation program with the scores of other majority and minority students

Comparing the entrance scores of students in a postbaccalaureate preparation program with the scores of other majority and minority students

The Problem of Multidimensionality in Course Scores and Course Choices in the Production of a Single Year 12 Tertiary Entrance Score

The present study considers the problem of multidimensionality in Tertiary Entrance (TE) scores where a single TE score is the desired goal. Using data from the 1988 cohort of the ACT college system, course scores as assessed by teachers were shown to distinguish performance in a four-dimensional space. TE scores, computed using both a modified multiple regression strategy and the Daley's (1989) Other Course Score scaling method, were shown to be related to, at best, two of the four dimensions. A second phase of the study revealed the presence of multidimensionality in the choices of courses that students made when assembling their college curricula. These dimensions of course choice were subsequently related back to the demographic characteristics of the students and to the two types of TE scores. Conclusions were drawn regarding the dubious validity of assuming that a single TE score carries all the information needed to summarise the performance of secondary school students.

Predicting Student Persistence and Performance in the First Year of a Tertiary Nursing Programme: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT A clearer understanding of factors believed to contribute to the persistence and performance of tertiary nursing students, may enable nurse academics to define the limits to which they can manipulate entry standards, while maintaining student numbers and desired course outcomes. To this end, an adapted version of Tinto's (1975) descriptive model of dropout was used to design an ex post facto study; into the effects of selected variables, on academic performance and persistence in the first year of study. At the 0.05 cut off limit, the best predictors of higher academic performance and persistence full‐time in nursing were respectively; the tertiary entrance score (TES) and the aspiration to complete a baccalaureate rather than a higher degree in nursing. When the limit was relaxed to 10%, the TES together with lower socio‐economic background and course completion for self‐development rather than a professional qualification best predicted higher academic performance. Full‐time persistence was bes...

Tertiary Entrance Predictors of First-Year University Performance

This paper reports a study of the extent to which the Tertiary Entrance Score (TES) and Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test (ASAT) score predict the first-year performance of the 1695 full-time students entering The University of Western Australia in 1987. The criterion of performance is successful completion of the normal load of four first-year units. Using hierarchical logit models, the relation of performance to TES and ASAT scores and to sex and field of study is established and graphically displayed. It is shown that the ASAT quantitative subscale (presently accounting for less than 1% of the TES) is comparable to the total TES score as a predictor of performance, for both humanities and science students. Implications for policy are discussed, together with suggestions for a more far-ranging study of the predictive power of Tertiary Entrance data.

An Analysis of the Validity of SAT Entrance Scores for Accelerated Classes

This study examined the validity of SAT cutoff levels used for entrance into fast-paced summer classes. Thirty-eight junior-high aged students whose SAT scores were below the required cutoff (SAT-V≥430 or SAT-M≥500) were admitted into fast-paced classes in literature, a teacher-paced course, and algebra, a self-paced course. Each below-score student was matched to an above-score student in his class on age, grade, sex, race, and family income. There was a small but statistically significant difference in achievement on standardized tests for the literature students, with above-score students scoring higher. There was no difference between above and below scorers in mathematics on achievement measures, including standardized tests, and in the number of chapters completed during the course. For either class, below and above score students did not differ on previous exposure to the content area; there were some differences between the groups on study skills and self-concept. Further, when individual profiles for below-score students were examined, below-score students who were most successful did not differ from other less successful students on any of the variables examined with the exception of study skills in algebra. There was a tendency for below-score students in algebra who were the most successful in the course to have higher scores on a study skills assessment than below-score students who had smaller gains. The results generally support the use of SAT cutoff scores in a teacher-paced course but suggest that cutoff scores might be less critical for motivated students in self-paced classes.

ASAT and the TE Score: A Critique of 'Objective Testing'

This article argues that so-called 'objective', scientifically 'valid and reliable' tests of aptitude such as ASAT (Australian Scholastic Apti tude Test, used in Queensland as the scaling mechanism for pro ducing a state-wide ranked order of student merit prior to the allocation of tertiary entrance scores), in fact operate to reinforce existing biases in the education system. Drawing on an examination of sample ASAT questions and other pertinent documents, the article traces some sources of systemic bias associated with ASAT. Drawing on more general sociological critiques on the social func tions and ideology of assessment, the article concludes with some discussion of the limitations and biases inherent in any system of 'competitive merit'.