Pre-Professional Skills Test Scores as College of Education Admission Criteria

The authors examined aspects of concurrent, predictive, and consequential validity evidence of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) scores as college of education admission criteria. American College Test (ACT) scores and PPST subtest scores of 372 graduates, and PPST scores, undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs), and student-teaching ratings of 1,062 graduates of a southwestern urban teacher education program were investigated. Findings of correlation and hierarchical regression analyses suggest evidence of a concurrent relationship between corresponding PPST and ACT subtest scores, no predictive relationship between PPST scores and student-teaching ratings, and a weak predictive relationship between PPST scores and student undergraduate GPAs. In addition, a differential impact of the use of the PPST on ethnic minorities was apparent. The plausibility of waiving PPST requirements for applicants with above-average ACT subtest scores is discussed.