Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

December 1982

Abstract

The problem of this study was to determine the relationships among selected predictor variables in order to identify the combination of variables which best predicts scores on the National Teacher Examination-Weighted Common Examination Total Score. The identified variables were sex, teaching level, ACT composite scores, teacher education admission grade-point averages, CAT scores in Reading, Mathematics, and English, and Professional Education sequence grade-point averages. Nine hypotheses comprised the basis of this study. The first eight hypotheses pertained to the bivariate relationship of each predictor variable and the NTE-WCET scores. Hypothesis nine concerned the relationships of the combination of the predictor variables to the NTE-WCET scores. The 99 subjects of this study were drawn from 186 applicants for initial teaching certification in Tennessee during the 1981 calendar year. Selection was dependent upon the subjects having the grade-point averages and scores used as variables recorded and reported to East Tennessee State University. Pearson product-moment/and point-biserial correlations were used to determine the relationship between each predictor and the criterion. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the combination of variables which correlate significantly with the NTE-WCET scores. The .05 level was considered in determining significance. Analysis of the relationship of predictors with the NTE-WCET scores revealed that sex and teaching level did not correlate significantly. ACT composite scores, CAT Reading scores, CAT Math scores, CAT English scores, teacher education admission grade-point averages, and Professional Education sequence grade-point averages correlated significantly at the .0001 level. ACT composite score and CAT Reading scores shared the greatest common variance with NTE-WCET scores at 74.23 percent and 61.88 percent respectively. Analysis of a significant correlation between the NTE-WCET scores and a combination of all eight predictors showed a significant correlation at the .0001 level. Analysis of the significance of each predictor to the R('2) increase showed that ACT composite scores, CAT Reading scores, and CAT English scores were significant at the .05 level.

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

Share

COinS