Assessing the Predictive Validity of the Admission Process in a Master's Level Speech Language Pathology Program

Abstract

Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model served as the theoretical foundation to assess (a) undergraduate GPA, (b) undergraduate Speech Language Pathology majors, and (c, d) GRE-Q and GRE-V scores (Input) as predictors of students' graduate GPA (Environment), and graduate GPA as a predictor of PRAXIS scores (Outcome). The sample for this study was 122 students who completed the Speech-Language Pathology Program in recent academic cycles at a graduate school in the northeastern United States. The sample was representative of other programs in the country in terms of gender, undergraduate GPA, and GRE scores. Results appear to support the predictive validity of the linear combination of the input predictors of the environment variable (GPA) and of the environment variable on the outcome, i.e., PRAXIS scores.