A study in predicting English grades in a two-year technical institute using the Career Planning Program (CCP) and Multiple Assessment and Program Services (MAPS) Reading and Language scores, age, gender, and race

An important concern of college admission directors and counselors is the prediction of first-time-in-college students' grades in order to counsel students away from failure and toward appropriate student placement which promotes student achievement (Deal, 1984). The job market of the last fifteen years has changed the way many postsecondary institutions look at placement tests. Technological advances of the last decade have revamped traditional employment into a constantly changing market which demands specialized skills and services. Along with these specialized training skills, the job market is demanding better verbal skills. As technical and community colleges shift toward training and retraining employees for specific technical and verbal skills, they rely on standardized tests to help predict student performance. Therefore, the selection of valid standardized tests is very important. These predictive scores can be used along with other demographic and performance information in counseling applicants (Schaffner, 1985).; The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the best set of predictors for an entry level English course by first-time-in-college students' scores using two standardized tests and demographic characteristics. The two standardized tests were the Career Placement Program (CPP) Test of the American College Testing program and the Multiple Assessment and Program Services (MAPS) Test of the College Board. This study investigated the Reading and Language subtests of the CPP and MAPS as predictor variables along with the attribute variables of age, gender, and race as they related to the students' English grades.; The sample for this study consisted of 104 students who enrolled in a first-quarter English course at a metropolitan Atlanta technical institute during the 1989 calendar year. Students were administered the Reading and Language subtests of the CPP and MAPS placement tests prior to the start of the class. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine if the scores on the CPP and MAPS Reading and Language subtests and/or age, gender, and race were predictors of performance.; Stepwise regression analysis suggested that student scores on the MAPS Reading and Language subtests and student age were the significant predictors of grades in the entry-level English course.