Predictive Validity of Common Entrance Test for Admission to the B.Ed Programme: A Comparative Study of Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University, India

Abstract

A key component of the admission or selection process is predictive validity. This paper aims to compare the predictive validity of the B.Ed Common Entrance Test (CET) and career performance in predicting students’ performance in the B.Ed examinations of Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University. Two distinct B.Ed admission models followed by two universities in India were selected for this study. Dibrugarh University uses both B.Ed CET scores and career performance, whereas Gauhati University uses only B.Ed CET scores for admission to the B.Ed programme. For this purpose, data were collected from 1,730 pre-service B.Ed students enrolled in the two-year B.Ed programmes of Dibrugarh University and Gauhati University for the academic sessions 2019-21 and 2020-22. Multiple regression and two-variable regression equations were used to analyse the data. By comparing the relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable, the study revealed differences in predictive validity across the two B.Ed admission models. The R-square values found in the present study were relatively low, suggesting that the independent variables may not have captured a large proportion of the variance in students’ performance in the B.Ed examinations. Based on the beta coefficients of the two-variable regression equations, it was found that the independent variables included in the present study could predict only about 25% of the variance in students’ performance in the B.Ed examinations of Dibrugarh University for both academic sessions, i.e., 2019-21 and 2020-22. Similarly, the independent variables could predict about 25% of the variance in students’ performance in the B.Ed examinations of Gauhati University for the academic session 2020-22, whereas only 5.57% of the variance could be predicted for the academic session 2019-21. Moreover, the findings revealed that the B.Ed CET alone did not effectively predict students’ performance and highlighted the importance of integrating career performance into admission decisions. Beyond B.Ed admission decisions, the study provides practical insights for developing more effective selection criteria by integrating cognitive abilities with candidates’ career performance in teacher education and other professional programmes.