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ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TESTS AS PREDICTORS OF SUCCESS IN GRADUATE STUDIES IN EDUCATION
Author(s) -
Gue Leslie R.,
Holdaway Edward A.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1973.tb00099.x
Subject(s) - test of english as a foreign language , psychology , test (biology) , language proficiency , predictive power , foreign language , selection (genetic algorithm) , predictive validity , language assessment , medical education , mathematics education , english language , clinical psychology , medicine , computer science , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , biology
One hundred twenty‐three Thai graduate students in Education studying on a one‐year program at The University of Alberta, Canada, completed two administrations of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), after arrival in Canada. TOEFL scores, both total and subtest, together with interview panel ratings obtained in Thailand, were correlated with final grade‐point averages earned in the Alberta program, in an attempt to find the best predictor of academic success. Differing “best” predictors were found in each of the four years of the study. None displayed a high degree of predictive power. The study provided support for the operating of a Summer Language Program for this group of foreign students at a Canadian university. It also supported continued use of objective‐type language tests as a selection device for foreign students, and demonstrated a need for further experimentation with the use of interview panels as a selection procedure.