No abstract

This is the first meta-analysis that investigates the differential prediction of undergraduate and graduate college admission tests for women and men. Findings on 130 independent samples representing 493,048 students are summarized. The underprediction of women's academic performance (d ϭ 0.14) and the overprediction of men's academic performance (d ϭ -0.16) are generalizable, albeit small. Transferred onto a 4-point grading scale, women earn college grades that are 0.24 points higher than those of men with the same admission test result. Combining admission tests with indicators of previous academic achievements, such as high school grades, reduces the amount of under-and overprediction. Moderator analysis reveals that the underprediction of women's academic performance by admission tests is a problem of the past and present. Predictor differences as well as criterion differences are not associated with over-and underprediction. Rather, undergraduate college admission tests show more underprediction of women's academic performance than graduate admission tests. These results point to differences between undergraduate and graduate students, the latter being more selected.

Für zwei deutsche Studierfähigkeitstests wird untersucht, ob diese die Studienleistungen von Frauen unterschätzen und wenn ja, ob dieser Befund mit geschlechts-spezifischen Persönlichkeitseigenschaften zusammenhängt. Die Datenbasis liefern 356 Studienanfänger in Wirtschaftswissenschaften und 269 Studienanfänger in Naturwissenschaften. Neben den Noten des ersten Studienjahrs werden die Leistungen im Studierfähigkeitstest, der Abiturerfolg sowie die Leistungsmotivation, die Selbstdisziplin und die Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit der Studienanfänger erhoben. Im Ergebnis unterschätzen die eingesetzten fachspezifischen Studierfähigkeitstests die Studienleistungen von Frauen deutlich, insbesondere im oberen Leistungsbereich. Demgegenüber unterschätzt die Abiturnote die Studienleistungen von Männern im obersten Leistungsbereich. Studierfähigkeitstest und Abiturerfolg zusammen liefern sowohl die valideste Vorhersage als auch die geringste geschlechtsspezifische Über- bzw. Unterschätzung. Facetten der Leistungsmotivation und Selbstdisziplin können die Unterschätzung von Frauen durch die Studierfähigkeitstests teilweise erklären, wohingegen die Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit keinen Einfluss auf die Unterschätzung der Studienleistungen durch Studierfähigkeitstests hat.

Abstract. This study explores how reasoning facets relate to tests of scholastic aptitude and to academic performance. Intelligence test scores and academic aptitude test scores from freshman students in science (n = 284) and economics (n = 359) as well as subsequent grades from their first year in college were used to analyze structural equation models. The direct influence of reasoning facets on academic performance is fully mediated by academic aptitude test scores. Numeric abilities dominate the aptitude tests’ predictive power. Verbal reasoning explains a significant amount of aptitude test score variance in science but not in economics. The mediation analysis suggests that verbal, numeric, and figural reasoning are covered sufficiently by the aptitude tests.

Objective Among other adjunctive medication, heparin is widely used in the therapy of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) today. Large randomized trials, however, have shown inconclusive data on the benefit of adjunctive heparin therapy for patients with AMI. The aim of this study was to describe the use of heparin and complication rates in routine clinical practice today. Methods MITRA and MIR were multicenter registries of AMI patients in Germany. During the years 1994 to 1998, 22697 patients were registered with MITRA and MIR. Of these patients 49.9% received reperfusion therapy. Results 21004 patients (92%) received heparin during acute therapy of AMI. The following factors were associated with withholding heparin: Bleeding at admission (OR 4.7; CI 3.2-6.8), cardiogenic shock (OR 1.8; CI 1.4-2.3) and fibrinolytic therapy with streptokinase (OR 2.1; CI 1.8-2.3). Complication rates of patients with heparin were only slightly higher than among those without heparin: 1.7% strokes and 1.9% bleedings were reported among the patients with fibrinolysis and heparin compared to 1.3% strokes and 1.4% bleedings among patients without heparin (p=ns). Mortality rates were 14.1% for patients with and 27.3% for patients without heparin (p<0.001). Conclusions Of the patients in MITRA and MIR 92% received heparin during AMI. Patients with active bleeding or in critical condition received heparin significantly less often. The selection of critically ill patients may have contributed to the high mortality of patients without heparin for AMI. Bleeding complication rates of patients with adjunctive heparin were only sightly higher than reported in randomized trials.