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Institutional Research and Planning
Room 306 1871 Old Main Drive Shippensburg, PA 17257 Phone: (717)-477-1154 Fax: (717)-477-4077 irp@ship.edu |
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This study investigated the relationships among high school performance indicators, placement test scores, and college achievement in basic skills courses. Presently the placement testing consists of the Descriptive Test of Mathematics Skills, the Nelson Denny Reading Test, and a topic writing essay. Related literature showed moderate relationships between the SAT I math or verbal to the corresponding placement test and moderate relationships between course grades and grade performance in high school. The possibility exists of using the SAT I as a possible pre-screen for the placement tests. The results of this study show that there are strong enough relationships among SAT I scores and placement test scores to warrant the pre-screening of students. This pre-screening would reduce the number of students who need to be placement tested by establishing minimum SAT cut scores. It is likely that the number of students requiring placement tests using pre-screening may be as much as one-third to one-half lower than presently. Based on the results, it is not recommended that the SAT I math and verbal scores be used to entirely replace placement testing. Doing so may result in students being incorrectly placed. Future studies could allow for the relationship among the SAT II and current placement tests to be determined. In addition, the tests could be equated to yield comparisons between cut points on the present placement tests and the SAT II. |