An Actuarial Study of Scores Received by High School Seniors on the Cooperative School and College Ability Test and These Students\u27 Grades Received During the First Year of Attendance in South Dakota Colleges

Abstract

In 1956 and 1957 college counselors felt a need for information concerning what South Dakota students were doing after they finished high school. Many questions were asked. Do out-of-state colleges lure away the outstanding students with scholarships? Do large numbers of the better students stay out of college? Do many students with great potential fail to do well in their high school studies? Are girls better achievers than boys? The South Dakota Guidance Association formed a committee to investigate some of these questions through a follow-up study. College and high school staffs have sought methods by which they could predict success in college. The problem selected by this writer was that of determining the value of the Cooperative School and College Ability Test in predicting success in college. This test is a test of “Developed Ability.” Predicted success in college will be determined by the expected grade point average derived from the test scores