Admission for Preentry Science Upgrading Courses in Southern Africa

Abstract

This article deals with the choice of selection instruments for preentry science upgrading courses in the Southern African countries Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho. The key question posed in this research is how selection can be implemented in the most effective and fairest manner. Using data obtained from selections in the years 1981 through 1985, the psychometric characteristics of several selection instruments (school grades and psychological tests) are examined with regard to (a) the degree of predictive validity, and (b) their relationship with previous learning conditions. The results confirm the notion that it is not possible to maximize the selection objectives of effectiveness and fairness simultaneously. An optimal selection procedure, incorporating the appropriate selection instruments, must be sought against the background of psychological, methodological sociopolitical, and educational, considerations.