Directions: Read the passage below and comment on your position of the Correleation and Prediction in the Classroom. Do you agree?
Psychological tests are often used to make predictions about specific aspects of individuals’ behavior, including performance in college, job capability, and suitability for training programs. In these instances, we are concerned about criterion?related validity, the extent to which scores on a test are correlated with the criterion in question. You are familiar with the terms correlation, prediction, and criterion?related validity, although you may not know it. Every college student who takes the SAT or ACT for admission to college has had a first?semester GPA predicted from that test score. The testing companies collect data from many incoming freshmen in one particular year, correlate their test scores and first semester GPAs, and use the resulting equation for prediction of the next year’s entering freshmen. That equation gives colleges the rationale for setting standards for minimum test scores. If a person scores below that point, the predicted GPA and probability of success is presumably lower than the college would prefer in its admission standards.