THE VALIDITY OF THREE TESTS FOR SELECTING NROTC CONTRACT STUDENTS: CSST, SAT, AND NCAT.
Abstract
Candidates to the NROTC Contract Program are selected by the Commanding Officer of each university NROTC unit. Scores on tests of scholastic aptitude are often part of the selection evaluation. This study focused on three such tests which were used in the assessment of applicants for the 1963 Contract NROTC: the Contract Student Selection Test (CSST), Forms 3 and 4, the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and the 1962 Navy College Aptitude Test (NCAT). Validities were determined for each of these predictors using two measures of freshmen academic achievement, Grade Point Average (GPA) and Naval Science Grade (NSG). Total scores on the three tests were found to be almost equally predictive of both criteria, with validities centering around r = .25. However, when the SAT Total score was separated into the two component scores, SAT-V and SAT-M emerged as a significantly better predictor of both GPA (r = .33) and NSG (r = .34). It was recommended that when there are a greater number of applicants than the established quota, those having the highest scores on SAT-V be given preference. When these scores are not available, administration of the CSST was recommended. An equipercentile conversion table was given for transforming scores on the CSST to the SAT-V scale. Because of the annual revision of the NCAT, score distributions and validities fluctuate with each edition, and the use of this test was recommended with reservation. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0626138
Entities
People
- Edmund D. Thomas
- Patricia J. Thomas
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center