Relative Effects of English Proficiency on General Admissions Tests Versus Subject Tests |
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| Authors: | Pennock-Román María |
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| Institution: | (1) The Pennsylvania State University at University Park and Educational Testing Service, USA |
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| Abstract: | The increasing linguistic diversity of the United States student population has brought to the forefront problems in the interpretation of test scores for non-native speakers of English in graduate admissions. The degree to which test scores reflect English proficiency was studied using data on N = 451 students whose native language was Spanish. They had taken the GRE, English proficiency tests, and the PAEG, a test in Spanish used for admission to graduate schools in Puerto Rico. Regression analyses revealed that the proportion of variance explained by the English proficiency terms (independent of developed skills measured in Spanish) was highest for the GRE verbal test (34%), lowest for the quantitative test (8%) and intermediate for the analytical test (16%), the Psychology (18%) and Biology (17%) Subject tests. These findings are discussed in light of efforts to increase access to higher education for Hispanic students. |
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| Keywords: | test validity Hispanic English proficiency |
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