The use of the GED for placement in community college English courses.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Smith, Glenda Streetman
Other Authors:	Ash, Michael J. (degree committee member.), Barker, Donald G. (degree committee member.), Chatman, Steve (degree committee member.), Lutes, Candida (degree committee member.)
Format:	Thesis Book
Language:	English
Published:	1986.
Subjects:	College entrance achievement tests > Texas. Community colleges > Texas. English language > Ability testing > Texas. GED tests. Major educational psychology. Academic theses
Online Access:	Link to ProQuest copy Link to OAKTrust copy

Description
Abstract:	The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether scores on the General Educational Development Test (GED) could be used for determining placement in developmental and college-level English courses at community colleges. Four research questions were examined: (1) Do the GED Total and subtest scores predict success in college? (2) Do the GED Writing Skills and Reading Skills subtest scores predict success in college English courses as well as, or better than, ACT English and Social Studies scores? (3) How strongly related are the GED and ACT scores? (4) Can appropriate GED cut-off scores be established for placing students in college English courses? The population for the study was limited to 1,344 students admitted to North Harris County College on the basis of GED scores. Chi-square analyses on sex and ethnicity were calculated to compare a subset of 448 students who took the ACT test with the remaining 916 students who took only GED. No differences were indicated. T-tests on age and GPA data indicated no difference between the two groups. Multiple regression analyses indicated that ACT and GED subtests combined predicted college GPA no better than any single subtest. A correlation between GED and ACT yielded a .80 coefficient, demonstrating that the two tests were essentially measuring the same construct. For students completing nine or more courses, the correlation between GED Writing Skills and English 132 grades was .53, indicating GED Writing predicts success in English as well as the ACT English subtest, r = .52. Three approaches applied to GED Writing Skills scores substantiated a cut-off score between 52 and 56 for placement into the college-level class (English 132). By using the cut-off scores established for GED, community colleges can place GED students without retesting, an efficient procedure that would save time and money for both students and colleges.
Item Description:	Typescript (photocopy). Vita.
Physical Description:	ix, 81 leaves ; 29 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-80).