Relationships of National Teacher Examination Communication Skills and General Knowledge Scores with High School and College Grades, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Characteristics, and Self-Reported Skill Ratings and Academic Problems

Abstract

Relationships of National Teacher Examination (NTE) Communication Skills (CS) and General Knowledge (GK) test scores with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) characteristics, self-reported academic problems, and 14 skill self-ratings were examined for 161 college teaching majors. The purpose was to determine if such personality data, collected 4 years before the students took the National Teacher Examination (NTE) tests, could explain variability in the NTE scores that could not be explained by high school and college classroom achievement. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that after controlling for classroom achievement, gender, and whether or not students were elementary/special or secondary majors, the personality variables could explain a statistically significant percentage of the CS (12%) and GK (17%) variances. An irony was observed in that MBTI sensing/judging types attained lower NTE scores than would be expected from their classroom achievement, although they also are the type that most often chooses teaching as a vocation.