The research essay papers
has found out that aptitude test for school-leavers are of great value for Australia. It serves as ticket to universities for smart students who would have no chances of getting a place on their final exam results.
A report on unites was released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. It concludes the assessment assisted the admission of students who "otherwise would not have received a place, and that these students performed on par with their counterparts who gained entry through other means, most commonly through Year 12 scores".
The report found out that "while the evidence is limited, both uniTEST and control group students appeared to report similar levels of academic engagement as well as learning and skill development".
UniTEST was developed by British company Cambridge Assessment and the Australian Council for Educational Research. During three years 6 universities took part in the research. Although the report does not name the universities, ACER's Hamish Coates, the study's lead author, said that the Australian National University, Macquarie, Flinders, Deakin and Monash universities showed great interest in the test.
During the pilot, 400 people were admitted to the universities out of 1500 who passed uniTEST. According to the report, at least 165 students might have lost their chance to enter universities. The report concluded that uniTEST scores combined with achievement scores were an indicator of grade point averages during the first two years of studies.
The research said: "Scores appear to be particularly helpful for students from historically under-represented backgrounds, and have been shown to be less influenced by important characteristics like socio-economic status."
