CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM
Background of the Study
On the cusp of a new millennium, schools incessantly deal with renewed
challenge to update the ways children are educated. The Philippine national government
and local initiatives in response to the business interest, specifically on building a
virtual Business Process Outsourcing University (CCAP Convention, 2011) have called
for improvements in the delivery of educational services, greater student achievement
and better preparation of graduates by equipping them with the global lingua franca, the
English language to successfully perform their roles in the global community of nations.
Key to these initiatives has been a standard-based reform effort as articulated in
the Education For All (EFA) 2015 Plan goals by way of the new concept of Quality
Education anchored on the concept of functionality, the re authorized version of the
DAKAR framework for action in the Philippines which was reaffirmed on September
2006. This standardbased reform to all these educational policy reformulation;
planning and programming; bridge program project redesigning at different levels can
be tracked down as the vital part of the K+12 Basic Education Curriculum in the
promotion of quality assurance strategies through testing and assessment (ASPBAE,
2007) .
The entrance test as a form of assessment to Butcher (1999) is not to provide
numbers but insight about the educational system of a certain institution (Conley, 2008,

at the time of the admission. The general finding is that the grade point averages
(GPA) from previous school and college entrance test scores provide the best forecast of
success, whether the success is measured as grades or the completion of higher
education.
The relationship between test scores and school performance seems to be
ubiquitous. Wherever it has been studied, children with high scores on tests tend to
learn more of what is taught in school than their lower-scoring peers. There may be
styles of teaching and methods of instruction that will decrease or increase such
correlation, but that consistently eliminates it has not yet been found (Cronbach &
Snow, 1977).
The study of entrance exam as a predictor of achievement in English or in
general academic performance does not need politicized assertions and recriminations;
it needs self-restraint, reflection, and a great deal more research. The questions that
remain are socially and scientifically important. There is no reason to think them
unanswerable, but finding the answers will require a shared and sustained effort as well
as the commitment of substantial scientific resources. Such a commitment is reflected in
the following studies.
Savignon (1983) states that communication takes place in an infinite variety of
situations; that success in a particular role depends on ones understanding of the
context and on the prior experience of a similar kind; and that the overall performance
of each student in language use depends on their English language proficiency.

Patrick Dooey (1999) did an investigation into the predictive validity of the
IELTS Test as an indicator of future academic success. His study points out that in
recent times there has been an increase in the number of overseas students choosing to
study in universities throughout Australia. As a result, the issue of eligibility criteria has
become an important one, with the assessment of proficiency in the English language
being a key aspect. At present, of the most widely-used tests for this purpose is the
International English Language Testing System (IELTS). It was conducted as a smallscale quantitative study carried out among first-year undergraduate students at Curtin
University of Technology, Western Australia. On the basis of their IELTS score, the
students were from diverse non-native English speaking backgrounds, and were
admitted to the Schools of Business, Science and Engineering in September 1, 1997.
This points out the importance of English as used in assessing ones future academic
success in the tertiary level and English being the most used medium of instruction in
all the subjects. However, while language is but one of many important factors
contributing to academic success, it plays a less significant role at the higher levels of
proficiency.
In another study on English Language Proficiency and the Prediction of
Academic Success, Janet G. Graham (1987) discussed the relationship between English
language proficiency and academic success in universities and colleges in which
English is the language of instruction. It pointed out some of the difficulties associated
with determining this relationship and summarized previous investigations on the issue.
Since colonial times, many English-medium universities in developing countries require

applicants to give proof of a high degree of proficiency in the English language.

Applicants with (very) good school results, but without the required score in English are
not admitted. The study of Seelen (1997) titled Is performance in English as a Second
Language, a Relevant Criterion for Admission to an English Medium University tried to
find out if the efficacy of such an entry requirement, the use of the English language in
predicting the performance of students at the National University of Lesotho is reliable
or not. The results showed that performance in school-level English is hardly correlated
with academic performance, when controlling for the overall school performance. At
the same time, overall school performance is a good predictor of performance. Further,
the study made an attempt to quantify the implications of the current emphasis on
performance in school English, and concluded that such emphasis cannot be justified,
since it actually works to keep a number of very promising students outside the
university. Finally, some reasons were suggested for the apparent lack of correlation
between performance in school English and performance at the university.
Furthermore, Garcia-Vasquez et al. (1997) compared the reading
achievement scores of Hispanic middle and high school students with
measures of their proficiency in English. He found that the highest
correlations

were

between

English

proficiency

and

English

academic

achievement. This has the same result with the comparative study of Butler and
Castellon-Wellington

(2000)

on

student

content

performance

to

concurrent performance on a language proficiency test. This study

established

correlation

relationship

between

English

language

proficiency and performance on standardized achievement tests in

English.

Contrary to the above findings is the result of the study of Ulibarri, et al. (1981).
They compared the performance of 1st, 3rd, and 5th-grade Hispanic students on three
English language tests with their achievement data for reading in English and they
found that the language test data were not very useful in predicting achievement in
reading in the English language.
Being able to predict students proficiency has been a priority for colleges for
decades because colleges take a business gamble when they accept students into their
schools and programs. As the better students perform, the more likely they are to
continue paying tuition to the school.
Several studies have investigated on the correlation between myriad variables
such has high school GPA, college GPA, entrance exams, course-specific diagnostic
exams, students expectations, and race in hopes of finding a relationship that could
pinpoint students likelihood of success at post-high school education (Gamble, 1994;
Georgakakos, 1997; Weissberg, Owen, Jenkins, & Harburg, 2003).
The study titled Grades and Degree Completion Using High School Grades
and SAT Scores: The Role of Student Ethnicity and First Language (Zwick & Sklar,
2002) asserts that GWA can be used to predict academic achievements as reflected in
their fourth year high school report cards. Survival analyses showed that high school
GPA had a statistically significant influence on graduation in the White/English group;
SAT had a significant effect in the Hispanic/English and White/English groups. Further,

the regression and survival analyses revealed interesting differences in achievement

patterns between the Hispanic/Spanish and Hispanic/English groups, demonstrating the
value of taking language background into consideration in educational research.
Likewise, one of the factors which is relevant to academic success is previous academic
achievement which means that students who enter university with higher entry scores
also achieve higher academic results at university (Mc Kenzie & Schweiter , 2004).
At the local level, the study of Reyes (1989) determined the level of proficiency
of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) students using the College Admission
Test (CFAT) as a proficiency evaluation tool and the predictive reliability of the test in
English 1 achievement. She found out that the CFAT was a primary indicator of entering
college freshmens over- all English proficiency.
Four years later, Tomas (2003) item analyzed the English Proficiency Subtest of
the MMSU CFAT and recommended that items in the test should be improved and some
to be maintained.
In 1996, CHED Region I mandated all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in
the region to implement Memo No.59 s 1996, which required the determination of the
language proficiency of freshman college students, using the English Proficiency Test
(EPT). The result showed that the MMSU freshman students appeared to be proficient
in syntactic meaning, discourse comprehension and reading comprehension. However,
they are weak in spelling, vocabulary and error identification.
Sex

In another view, a paper review on Gender Inequality in Higher Education

(Jacobs, 2002) looked into a diverse literature on sex and higher education. It was found
out that gender inequality is more pronounced in some aspects of the educational
systems than in others. The analysis

distinguishes: 1) access to higher education;

2) college experiences; and 3) post collegiate outcomes, thus women fare relatively
well in the area of access, less well in terms of the college experience, and are
particularly disadvantaged with respect to the outcomes of schooling.
Likewise (David, 2001) worked on sex as a predictor of academic achievement.
It was found out that in some instances , entrance test data under predict college grade
performance in English.
In this present study, the analysis is focused on CFAT EPT scores as predictor of
achievement in English achievement.
Theoretical Framework
This study is anchored on Rasch Theory on Entrance Examination admission
decisions and test impact (Weaver, 2005). Accordingly, entrance examination plays an
influential role on students lives. The scores that these test takers receive from an
entrance examination is a gate keeping function that could be a basis for
administrators, entrance test developers, curriculum designers and teachers with
additional information to enhance instruction. This wealth of information depends on
two factors. The first factor concerns the entrance examination construct validity which
suggests that items on the examination should assess the content knowledge that test

takers is supposed to have mastered. The second factor involves the use of the Rasch
measurement model to determine test takers' level of knowledge and the items' level of
difficulty on the entrance examination. This approach not only provides a cut-off score
for admission decisions, but it also defines test takers' level of knowledge in relation to
the items in the entrance examination. Predictive validity is thus an equally important
concern for entrance examination designers (Brown, 1996). Taken together, concerns
about an entrance examination's content and predictive validity can be assessed with a
Rasch analysis by closely examining the probabilistic relationship between test takers'
abilities and the items on the entrance examination. Thus, the level of performance of
the test taker in the CFAT EPT score can predict students potential in English
Achievement.
Furthermore, the CFAT EPT examination is based upon Celce-Murcia, Zoltan
and Thurrell's (1995) conception of communicative competence to assess test takers'
sociocultural competence, linguistic competence, and actional competence. How these
broad competencies are operationalized in an entrance examination involves careful
item design that reflects the requirements of the high school English curriculum and the
expectations of MMSUs English program. In determining the English achievement of
the test taker, the analysis ultimately depend upon the quality of the items in the
entrance examination which can be used to interpret potential achievement in College
English. The Rasch test framework can examine test takers' overall level of English
competence in relationship to the difficulty of the items. (Mueller, Bullock, & Leierer,
2010, Curtis & Boman, 2007).

Conceptual Framework
Based on the Rasch theory and Rasch Model, this study hypothesized that the
level of performance of students in the admission test scores significantly predict their
level of English achievement in college.
The paradigm below shows the research design of this study. It illustrates the
assumption that the students level of achievement in College English are dependent on
the CFAT EPT scores and are affected by other factors such as: sex and the type of
secondary school they have attended. The diagram shows that the personal profile such
as sex, school attended and High School GWA can predict the EPT component of CFAT
as indicated by the arrow symbol and same is true that the EPT Scores can predict
English achievement in college.

PERSONAL PROFILE
Sex
School attended
HS GWA

English Proficiency
Scores

Figure 1. The Research Paradigm

Level of
Achievement in
College English

10

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the research design and methodology of this
study.
Research Design
This study made use of an ex-post facto research method or Causal Comparative
Design. This research run an ex post facto study because the data gathered are records
of students that cannot be changed which are used in determining if the CFAT English
Proficiency Test scores of students have any bearing on how they fare academically in
English. As an ex-post facto design, it aims to investigate on the gathered data such as
how the CFAT English Proficiency Test scores with the English achievement of the CTE
freshman BSE students from S.Y. 2010 2011 determines the effect of sex and
secondary school attended on its predictive validity and to find the extent to which the
given dependent variables determined by CFAT English Proficiency Test scores and
some moderating variables.
Population and Sampling Procedures
All the BSE freshman students of MMSU CTE during the first and second
semesters of the school year 2010 -2011 were included in the population study.The
sample data is determined by the availability of data that is gathered during the research
process. In this study, the total population was 170. All the students who have
incomplete data and the transferees were not included in the population. Thus, only

students which is 52.94 % of the total population became part of the sample. This
number and percentage was considered adequate to represent the whole population with
regard to their student variable profiles and CFAT scores as well as academic
performance as measured by their HS GWA.
Research Locale
The study was undertaken at the College of Teacher Education of the Mariano
Marcos State University. The choice of the locale is prompted by the fact that the said
College has earned its title as the Center of Excellence in teacher education, a name in
the academe as flagship of quality education in the North. With this, it is presumed that
theits student could be representative of the desired type of students for the study.
Data Gathering Procedure
The following records filed in the Office of the Registrar: Form 137 (Permanent
Cumulative Record), CFAT result, grading sheets in English 1 and 2 were utilized as the
main source of data in this investigation. From these documents, the following were
obtained: entrance test scores, general weighted average in the secondary education,
secondary school they have attended, sex, and grades in English 1 and English 2.
Statistical Treatment of Data
For the personal profiles of the students, frequency distribution, percentage, and
Pearson Point Biserial Regression were used. Frequency distribution using range of
scores was used in the CFAT total scores and its English Proficiency Test component.
The scores were interpreted using the following range of values with their

corresponding descriptive rating or interpretation of: 1) English performance in the

CFAT EPT 2) the English Achievement.
1. CFAT English Proficiency Test Scores
Range of Scores
49-60
37-48
25-36
13-24
0 -12

Descriptive Rating
Excellent
Very Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Fair
Poor

Frequency distribution using a range of GWAs was used in the General weighted
average of the students. The grades were interpreted using the following range of values
with their corresponding descriptive rating or interpretation. The first set infers the
performance of each student in the English achievement in English 1 and 2 while the
second set accounts for the performance of each student based on high school general
weighted average.
2.

English Achievement
Range of Eng AVEs
1.00 - 1.50
1.51 - 2.00
2.01 - 2.50
2.51 - 3.00
3.00 - below
Range of HS GWA
95 -100
90 -94
85 -89
80 -84
75 -79

Descriptive Rating
Excellent
Very Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Fair
Poor
Descriptive Rating
Excellent
Very Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Fair
Poor

The mean and standard deviation for the CFAT English proficiency components
and the GWA in English 1 and 2 were also used for interpretation.
To test whether there exists a significant relationship between the student profile
variables and the HSGWA of the students, as well as the CFAT English Proficiency Test
and the GWA of the students in English 1 and 2, the data were processed using the
Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The Pearson product moment
correlation and point-biserial correlation were generated for each of the data pairs of
interest using the SPSS. Multiple linear regression using the Stepwise Regression
Procedure was performed to determine which among the independent variables, singly
or in combination, significantly predict English achievement. The multiple linear
regression models that were considered are as follows:
English Achievement = 0+1 SEX+3 THS+4 EPT Score +
Where: English Achievement is the dependent variable (the general weighted
average in English in their first year college); 0 is the constant term or true y-intercept;
12 and 3 are the regression coefficients; is the random error, and the independent
variables are SEX, THS (type of high school attended), CFAT EPT Score (English
Proficiency Test Scores).

CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter presents the data gathered together with the interpretation of results
of the data analyses performed.
Profile of the Respondents
This section discusses the profile of the respondents in terms of sex, type of high
school attended, high school general weighted average (HS GWA), and CFAT English
Proficiency Scores. The data are presented in Table 1.
It is shown in Table 1 that majority of the respondents are females (68 or 75.60
%) and only 22 or 24.40 % are males. This indicates that teaching is more appreciated
by females than males. This finding corroborates the findings of Seatriz (1996) that
there are more female teachers than male teachers.
The female dominates the direct day to day education of the growing mind and
the teachers old adage, Educate a man and you educate an individual, educate a
woman and you educate a family is still believed in. It seems that even more women
will be teaching in coming decades". According to Linquanti (2001) , women are better
educators but they just tend to take up certain professions more often than some others
due to stereotypes in roles .
As regard the type of high school graduated from, most of the respondents
graduated from public high schools (74 or 82.20%) and only a few graduated from

16

private high schools (16 or 17.80%). This finding is not surprising because most of the
secondary schools that are within the service area of the MMSU College of Teacher
Education are subsidized by the government. In addition, the enrolment in the public
high schools is thousands more than those enrolled in the private secondary schools.
Considering the profile of the respondents in terms of high school general
weighted average, it can be noted from Table 1 that generally, the students had
satisfactory level of performance in high school as indicated by the mean of their HS
GWA of 87.71 with a standard deviation of 3.28. This is expected because majority of
them had HS GWA of 85 89 (49 or 54.44%) and only one got a general weighted
average within the range 95 100. It is not surprising though that nobody had a HS
Table 1. Distribution of respondents according to each of the profile variables.
_________________________________________________________________
Variable
f
%
_________________________________________________________________
Sex
Male
22
24.40
Female
68
75.60
Total
Type of school graduated from
Public
Private
Total

90

100.00

16
74

17.80
82.20

90

100.00

High School General Weighted Average

95 100 (Excellent)
1
1.11
90 94 (Very satisfactory)
24
26.67
85 89 (Satisfactory)
49
54.44
80 84 (Fair)
16
17.78
75 79 (Poor)
0
0.00
_________________________________________________________________

17

GWA of lower than 80 because the college set 80% as the minimum high school general
weighted average of an applicant to be admitted to the BSE or BEEd program.
Students Level of Performance in the College Freshman Admission Test English
Proficiency Test
This section describes the level of performance of the students in the College
Freshman Admission Test particularly in the English Proficiency Test component. The
data are presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Distribution of respondents based on CFAT scores and EPT component.
_________________________________________________________________
f
%
_________________________________________________________________
CFAT English Scores
49 60 (Excellent)
37-48 (Very satisfactory)
40
44.44
25-36 (Satisfactory)
50
55.55
13-24 (Fair)
Mean = 35.29 (Satisfactory)
Standard deviation = 5.11
_________________________________________________________________
It can be extracted from the table that majority (40 or 44.44%) of respondents
performed very satisfactorily (37 - 48) and (50 or 55.55,13-24) satisfactory. None of the
respondents performed excellently, fairly nor poorly.
The mean score of 35.29 indicates that generally the students had satisfactory
performance in the English Proficiency component of the CFAT.
Respondents Level of Achievement in College English
Table 3 presents the distribution of students according to their level of