A comparison of the performance of students prepared for study at Old Dominion University through a developmental program with those accepted directly from secondary schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of freshmen, as measured by cumulative GPA, who received developmental preparation at the college level with those who were prepared by the secondary school systems. The author\u27s intention was to obtain data for accountability of institutional performance and provide public officials with a program effectiveness base.;Data were obtained from the institutional research office of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia on all entering freshmen students for the years 1988 and 1989. The data base was sanitized for confidentiality and contained information on the sex, age, ethnic background, high school GPA, SAT scores, cumulative academic GPA at the end of the freshmen year, and whether they required developmental courses to begin college level courses. The data were placed in an ASCII file and analyzed by three different computer packages.;The question was reformatted into a null hypothesis which declared that there would be no difference in the performance of the two groups. Further, subsidiary null hypotheses were formed to declare that the performance would be the equal when gender, age, ethnic background, SAT scores and high school GPAs were considered.;It was concluded that there is, indeed, a small but statistically significant difference in the performance of the two groups. However, it was also concluded that the parameters selected in this case had little predictive value in forecasting performance. The best predictors of performance were high school GPAs, and they were not statistically significant. All other parameters, including SAT Scores, proved to be poor predictors of performance, but they may explain the small difference in cumulative GPA.;Further research is needed to find predictors of performance, and to explore the complex ethnic background--gender--GPA matrix discovered during the study

A case study of the predictive ability of placement tests for principles of accounting

The predictive ability of mathematics and reading placement tests used as a prerequisite for entry into the introductory level of accounting principles was investigated in a case study conducted at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Virginia for students enrolled during the 19-month period beginning with June 1988 and ending with December 1989. The entire population of 1353 students was used in the study which tested for the independence of two variables, assessed or non-assessed students and their success (or non-success) in the course. In addition, the scores on the placement tests were compared with the final grade of the students to establish any possible correlation between the scores and grades. Other variables such as gender, age, day or evening student status, full- or part-time status of the student or faculty, and/or curricula were also tested for their predictive qualities. The study used Chi-square statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis to evaluate the results.;The study confirmed that although there appears to be a positive correlation between some of the reading and mathematics placement tests used in the study, students who have been subjected to placement testing did not score better than the students who had not been assessed. In the area of mathematics, arithmetic skills appear to be a more significant predictor of final grade outcome than does the placement test on elementary algebra. Both reading placement tests investigated showed significant, though limited, predictive value.;Further study should include re-evaluation of the placement tests being used for their validity as a predictor of success. The level of cut-off scores which are deemed to be acceptable should also be examined. Also, further study might explore the impact that factors other than adequate entering skills, such as teaching methodology, textbook materials, accounting laboratories, and use of computers have on the success rate of accounting students

The Concept Of Tension In Drama: An Approach To Ionesco's 'le Roi Se Meurt,' Beckett's 'en Attendant Godot,' And Genet's 'les Negres.'.

PhDLiteratureUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/186622/2/7123899.pd

In situ determination of /sup 241/Am on Enewetak Atoll. Date of survey: July 1977-December 1979

An in situ gamma ray spectrometer system was operated at Enewetak Atoll from July 1977 to December 1979 in support of the Enewetak Cleanup Project. The system employed a high purity germanium planar detector suspended at a height of 7.4 m above ground. Conversion factors were established to relate measured photopeak count rate data to source concentration in the soil. Data obtained for /sup 241/Am, together with plutonium-to-americium ratios obtained from soil sample analyses, were used to establish area-averaged surface (0 to 3 cm) transuranic concentration values. In areas which exceeded cleanup criteria, measurements were made in an iterative fashion to guide soil removal until levels were reduced below the cleanup criteria. Final measurements made after soil removal had been completed were used to document remaining surface transuranic concentration values and to establish external exposure rate levels due to /sup 137/Cs and /sup 60/Co

University of California Radiation Laboratory Report UCRL-6184

In January and February, 1960, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory personnel conducted a series of experiments in Phase II of Project Cowboy in which tourmaline crystal transducers, located very close (3 to 50 feet) to tamped high explosive detonations, detected dynamic elasto-plastic stress waves generated in salt. The detonations occurred 110 feet below the 800-foot working level of the Carey Salt Mine, near Winnfield, Louisiana. These experiments were designed to measure dynamic stress conditions resulting from explosion in the earth media, of which little is known at present, and to provide data for comparative calculations on seismic disturbances from tamped explosions and from explosion in large underground cavities. Eleatic stress waves of 1 kilobar magnitude were observed, with velocities of about 15,000 ft/sec. Inelastic stress waves up to 6 kilobars in magnitude were measured. Velocities for these waves were in the range 9000 to 12,000 ft/sec

Associations between levels of fine particulate and emergency visits for pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses among children in

ABSTRACT Recent evidence has implicated the fine fraction of particulate as the major contributor to the increase in mortality and morbidity related to particulate ambient levels. We therefore evaluated the impact of daily variation of ambient PM 2.5 and other pollutants on the number of daily respiratory-related emergency visits (REVs) to a large pediatric hospita