Date of Award

4-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

First Advisor

Dane Joseph, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Derek Brown, Ed.D.

Third Advisor

Joel Hoff, Ed.D.

Abstract

This study analyzed secondary standardized test score data for 11th grade students on the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) within a rural school district. Specifically, the study examined how each of the SAT and ASVAB’s composite and subtest scores are distributed. This study also sought to examine how each of the tests’ student scores correlated to each other and to high school grade point average (HSGPA). While most of the research pertaining to the SAT and ASVAB has been done internally by the College Board and Department of Defense, these studies have focused on large national samples to ensure that the SAT and ASVAB are valid and reliable predictors of a person’s ability and aptitude. This study examined a single rural school district’s test scores by using Tukey’s Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and examining the associations between the students’ test scores for the SAT and ASVAB test, and their HSGPAs by using a Pearson’s r correlation test. Additionally, the study explored the test scores when HSGPA, gender, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were moderators for the rural student sample using t-tests and a One-way ANOVA test. The analysis of the data revealed that students HSGPA was associated with tests that measured the academic learning domains of reading and mathematics. However, HSGPA had only a weak association with tests that measured the science and technology domains. Male students and students enrolled in a free and reduced lunch program also registered their highest scores on the tests measuring science and technology when gender and SES moderated. Understanding students’ academic achievements, abilities, and aptitudes can assist educators in creating additional career and certification pathways. Additionally, the results of this study may provide additional insight for the district as to how they can better help students plan what they will do after high school.

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