The relationship between scores on a language diagnostic test and success in a basic communication course in a justice studies diploma program

Abstract

Standardized tests are widely used to determine an individual's competency in a particular skill or in a particular area of study. These tests are generally used to measure a level of competence or understanding and to predict future success. Educational institutions rely on standardized tests for various purposes, including determining a student's enrolment eligibility in an institution. a program. or a course. -- The Communications 1 course in the Centre tor Justice Studies at Loyalist College in Belleville. Ontario, uses a language diagnostic test (LDT) to determine which students are eligible for exemptions from the course and to determine which students should be counselled to seek remedial support for spelling, punctuation, grammar, diction and usage, and sentence structure. The current study compared the results of the LDT with the results of final course grades to determine if the LDT had predictive ability. The current study followed and extended the findings of previous research that examined the extent to which standardized tests could predict students' final course grades in a basic business communications course. -- The statistical analysis of the data in the current study found that a passing grade on the LDT does not guarantee that a student will pass the course and a failing grade on the LDT does not guarantee that a student will fail the course. However, the analysis found that the higher the grade is on the LDT, the greater the chance is for a student to pass the course and that as the grade ranges increase on the LDT, the percentage of those who pass the course also increases. -- Implications of this study are highlighted and encourage educational institutions and organizations that use standardized tests to determine a person's competency in a particular area to review the tests in order to ensure that the tests are in fact measuring what they are intended to measure and that all possible factors that could contribute to a person's decline, for example, in a course or on the job, be considered so that people, institutions, and organizations will be successful.