A study of some test results and grades at V.P.I.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discover the significance of certain standard tests given at the V. P. I. to freshmen, the relation of test results to grades, and especially the indications of the test given in the English department. For this reason high school grades in English were included. The data available were not entirely such as would be obtained in a controlled experiment, and the result sought was the utilization of data at hand.

The tests used were as follows: The Iowa State Test for Chemical Aptitude. The Iowa State Test for Chemical Training. The Iowa State Test for Physics Aptitude. The Cross English Test: scores in this test had been used as the basis for a division of the freshman class into three groups.

The procedure followed was to compute correlations by the Otis method, and to make distribution curves for the several groups of data. Average high school grades in English were secured from the college records. The effect of the use of test scores in a hypothetical program for college entrance requirement was also considered. Comparisons were made with significant results from the University of Virginia and from other sources.