Correlations between the general aptitude test battery scores, curriculum selections, and jobs obtained by students of the Texas State Technical Institute

Abstract

Purpose for the Study: The study sought to answer two basic questions: (1). Does scoring high on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) have a significant effect on success in graduation? (2). Do the graduates of Texas State Technical Institute obtain jobs for which they have been trained at school? Scope of the Study: In answering the first question, the GATB scores of 2,357 students were compiled. These were students who were enrolled in Texas State Technical Institute, Waco, Texas, in the period of time between September, 1966 through April, 1973. In answering the second question, the responses to 550 survey letters from selected graduates were treated to statistical analysis. Procedure of the Study: In Phase I, a Chi Square analysis was performed to determine if graduation depended on scoring high on the GATB. The t statistic was used to compare the number of times the GATB scores were significant with the times the scores were not significant. In Phase II, a factorial analysis was done to determine if scoring high on the GATB had a significant relationship with the graduate finding related employment. Also, the t test for the significance of difference between means, where population variances are unequal, was performed to determine if there was a significant difference between the number of graduates who found related employment and those who did not find related employment.