Admission Practices in Master of Public Administration Programs: A Nationwide Study
Faculty members charged with making admissions decisions are faced with an ongoing problem: the evaluation of student promise based on limited data. Yet, little is known about admission procedures. Since the selection of candidates for graduate study is a significant concern in the profession, an examination of these practices-the purpose of this exploratory studymay facilitate discussion of entrance standards for Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs. Do MPA programs admit nearly any college graduate, only those who meet minimum and higher standards, or just candidates who substantially exceed basic requirements? What criteria do program officials believe are the most accurate predictors of student success? Do they think that a strong relationship exists between academic achievement and professional performance? In short, do entrance requirements and faculty attitudes about them discourage potential students from applying to MPA programs? Following the literature review and methodology sections, an attempt is made in this article to answer such questions insofar as survey data permit.
Do We Practice What We Preach? The Prevalence of Graduate Record Examination Predictive Validity Studies at Leading Master of Public Administration/Master of Public Policy Programs
This study presents findings from a survey of leading Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) programs who were asked to provide copies of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) validation studies. We planned to examine these papers to determine common themes that might contribute to developing a theory of valid entrance standards for MPA/MPP students. In spite of an 89 percent (31/35) response rate, only four schools had GRE validity research available. Three programs sent written reports dated 1985, 1990, and 1994, respectively. A fourth school conducted annual validity studies but did not issue a written document. Based on this paucity of validity studies, the present discussion proposes that the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) require all MPA schools to furnish GRE validation studies as a part of program accreditation.
DIFFERENCES IN ITEM PERFORMANCE ACROSS GROUPS
An analysis of the Graduate Management Admission Test was undertaken to isolate factors that make some items unexpectedly easy or difficult for minority candidates relative to the majority candidate, a young male Caucasian of U. S. citizenship. Minority groups were selected within the following dimensions: sex, ethnic background or race, age, and language fluency. Fourteen pairwise group comparisons were completed and all sections of a current test form analyzed. The group comparisons were of item difficulty. An iterative technique was adopted to determine a line of best fit for plots of difficulty for one group against difficulty for another. Empirical criteria were established for identifying outlying items as unexpectedly easy or difficult. In addition to describing the study and its results, the research report includes a discussion of how the methodology may be extended to the simultaneous comparison of any number of groups and an analysis of the sampling error in calculations of item difficulty.