POPULATION VALIDITY AND COLLEGE ENTRANCE MEASURES
Authors: Breland Hunter M. 
Published: August 2014

This report reviews and summarizes the data of published reports and papers pertaining to the validity of measures commonly used at college entrance. These measures consist of various types of quantitative indices used to describe the high school record and various types of academic tests. The data were categorized by sex and ethnic classifications where possible and comparisons were made.

Most of the observations made in previous reviews of this kind were upheld. Both the high school record and standardized academic tests appear to be generally useful at college entrance. Both tend to predict college performance, but they are most appropriately used in combination. For Anglo populations, the high school record usually yields slightly higher predictive correlations. For black populations (except black females), however, the data suggest no superiority of the high school record as a predictor of college performance. The amount of data available for Chicano samples was not sufficient for any generalizations about predictive correlations, but the magnitude of those correlations available were on the average lower than those for Anglo populations. For recent years, correlations for black samples tended to be slightly lower than those for Anglo samples.

A primary objective in the review was to consider whether inferences made from the high school record and test scores about different populations tended to be correct inferences. Where inferences tended to be systematically incorrect, there was an interest in the direction of the error. Since the high school record and test scores are used in making inferences about probable college performance, the systematic inferential errors of interest consisted of the degree to which college performance of populations were over or underpredicted when the data used in making the inference were not limited to data for that population.

Data from a number of studies show that the college performance of black populations, male and female, have been consistently overpredicted by the traditional academic predictors (the high school record and standardized test scores) when predictions are based on data from white or predominantly white samples. The high school record would appear, from the studies reviewed, to be the principal source of this overprediction. Standardized test scores also have tended to overpredict college performance of black populations, but a combination of the high school record and test scores appears to minimize over prediction. In contrast, published data show women to be consistently under predicted by the traditional predictors when predictions are based on data from male or predominantly male samples.

This review indicates a number of topics where further research appears to be needed. These topics include the study of: long‐range criteria, objective criteria, prediction within major‐field, the high school record for different populations, college grades for different populations, neglected populations, factorial consistency of measures across populations, item characteristic curves, expert judgment of test content, and the rationale of the content of standardized tests.