Evaluation of entry to higher technological education. School cycle 1999-2000

Rafael H. Escalante Torres

Pedro J. Canto Herrera

Keywords

Research
educational research
diagnostic tests
aptitude tests
admission
Mexico

Abstract

This paper is a diagnostic of the characteristics of 2486 of students who were administered the abilities and knowledge tests developed by CoSNET, used as a requirement to apply for admission at the Technological Institute of Merida in June 1999. Significant differences were found regarding gender, type of school. A moderate positive correlation was also found between GPA from high school and the knowledge test score. Women got higher scores than men on the knowledge test, while men got higher scores than women on numeric abilities. Students coming from private preparatory schools, scored higher on both tests than those coming from state or federal schools. It is suggested that the use of the abilities test should be considered more cautiously when deciding the admission of students.

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