Predicting academic achievement among bilingual Hispanic college technical students

The predictive validity of each of several mathematics and language variables relative to criteria of grade point average (GPA) and word problem-solving skills for a group of 60 undergraduate Hispanic engineering and science students %was investigated. For comparison purposes, the study also included a group of 73 monolingual technical undergraduates. Results showed a strong correlation between GPA and all language as well as mathematics variables for the bilingual group, but not for the monolingual group. The bilingual group also exhibited a persistent and statisti-cally significant correlation between the language proficiency measures and scores on mathematics examinations that required almost no language processing, whereas no such correlation exist-ed for the monolingual group. ALTHOUGH many researchers have investigated the use of familiar variables such as class rank and the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Educational Testing Service, 1948-1981) for predicting the academic performance of minority college students, virtually none has specifically. addressed validity problems for minority students majoring in technical subjects such as engineer-ing. In one study, Dalton (1974) did investigate the validity of using high school rank and SAT scores as predictors of college grade point I Work supported by National Institute of Education Grant NIE-G-79-0094. The contents of this study do not necessarily reflect the position, policy, or endorsemen