« Back to Volume 10 (2001), Issue 3
Pojdi na slovensko stran članka / Go to the article page in Slovene
Predictive validity of the Slovene Matura
Valentin Bucik
Full text (pdf) | Views: 21 | Written in Slovene. | Published: September 1, 2001
Abstract: Passing Matura is the last step of the secondary school graduation, but it is also the entrance ticket for the university. Besides, the summary score of Matura exam takes part in the selection process for the particular university studies in case of 'numerus clausus'. In discussing either aim of Matura important dilemmas arise, namely, is the Matura examination sufficiently exact and rightful procedure to, firstly, use its results for settling starting studying conditions and, secondly, to select validly, reliably and sensibly the best candidates for university studies. There are some questions concerning predictive validity of Matura that should be answered, e.g. (i) does Matura as an enrollment procedure add to the qualitaty of the study; (ii) is it a better selection tool than entrance examinations formerly used in different faculties in the case of 'numerus clausus'; and (iii) is it reasonable to expect high predictive validity of Matura results for success at the university at all. Recent results show that in the last few years the dropout-rate is lower than before, the pass-rate between the first and the second year is higher and the average duration of study per student is shorter. It is clear, however, that it is not possible to simply predict the study success from the Matura results. There are too many factors influencing the success in the university studies. In most examined study programs the correlation between Matura results and study success is positive but moderate, therefore it can not be said categorically that only candidates accepted according to the Matura results are (or will be) the best students. Yet it has been shown that Matura is a standardized procedure, comparable across different candidates entering university, and that – when compared entrance examinations – it is more objective, reliable, and hen ce more valid and fair a procedure. In addition, comparable procedures of university recruiting and selection can be found at universities in many other European countries.
Keywords: Matura, study, prediction, validity, selection, fairness, correlation
