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Navy College Aptitude Test XCA

Author(s):
Swineford, Frances
Publication Year:
1950
Report Number:
RB-50-27
Source:
ETS Research Bulletin
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
12
Subject/Key Words:
College Entrance Examinations, Navy College Aptitude Test, Test Analysis

Abstract

The College Board and later ETS, under the direction of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, prepared, distributed, directed the administration of, scored, reported, and studied the results of the Navy College Aptitude Test (NCAT) administered in January 1947 in connection with the selection of NROTC students. The present study was undertaken to investigate the validity of the total score on this test as a predictor of first-year academic marks and of Naval Science marks in the 52 colleges having NROTC programs. The sample on which this study is based included all students who were admitted to the NROTC program as entering freshmen in the fall of 1947 as Regular NROTC students, who took the Navy College Aptitude Test, and who completed a full year of college work during the academic year 1947-48. The total number of students included was 2099, distributed among 52 college units. Three correlation coefficients, with the corresponding means and standard deviations, were computed for each college on: 1) Naval Science grade vs. first-year average grade; 2) NCAT total score vs. first-year average grade; and 3) NCAT total score vs. Naval Science grade. Variations in the grading systems used in reporting performance in the various colleges and in the minimum standards used in evaluating freshman work were considered to be too great to justify the pooling of data from different institutions to secure an over-all estimate of validity. Instead, distributions of the validity coefficients of the NCAT score against each criterion are reported and the median and first and third quartiles are given for each distribution. Also evaluated are 1) relationships among the average score level on the NCAT, variability of scores, and selection for the NROTC program; 2) relationship between score level on the NCAT and probability of earning a satisfactory or better GPA during the freshman year; 3) percentage of passing students who failed one or more courses and 4) extent to which NROTC students attended college in their own geographic area of the country. (JGL)

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