Building Validity Evidence for a Noncognitive Admissions Tool

• In Event: Psychometrics and Educational Measurement Poster Session 2

Abstract

The Character Skills Snapshot is a non-cognitive assessment used for students in grades 5-12 applying to an independent secondary school. The Snapshot measures seven essential character skills: initiative, intellectual engagement, open-mindedness, resilience, self-control, social awareness, and teamwork. The present study investigates concurrent validity evidence for The Snapshot using a dataset of 2,633 cases. We examined the relationships among The Snapshot, SSAT, grades, and teacher and parent recommendation forms. Preliminary analyses suggest good discriminant and convergent validity evidence. Also, correlations between The Snapshot and parent ratings of Snapshot skills are generally larger than between The Snapshot and teacher ratings of Snapshot skills. Furthermore, we found that teacher ratings of Snapshot skills moderately relate to students’ current grade.

Authors

• Jingxuan Liu, Georgia State University

• Meghan Wilson Brenneman, Enrollment Management Association