The Predictive Validity of the New Version of the State Universities Entrance Examination Admitting Candidates to English Major

The major aim of this study was to examine the predictive validity of the new version of the state Universities Entrance Examination (UEE) which was employed recently for admitting candidates to English major within the Iranian academic scene. The prediction study was based on the UEE scores and GPA ofn=l20 students ,studying English at Allameh-Tabatabaee and Ferdowsi Universities. A variety of statistical techniques (t-test, corrclational analysis, regression anlysis and factor analysis) was used to analyze the data. Results of this study show that this new version of the UEE enjoys high predictive validity and the main reason is the addition of the special English subtest which is the strongest predictor. Adding pre-university grades of English lesson at high school to the UEE score of candidates improves the prediction rate and they are considered to be the second best predictor. Results also show that the UEE assesses two important constructs: "cultural" factor which is not related to short-term academic success and "English language proficiency'' factor. It is suggested that admissions officers should either omit non-predictor subtests or set multiple cutoff scores.