Do pre-entry tests predict competencies required to excel academically in law school?: An empirical investigation
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Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Quality Assurance in Education
Abstract
Prospective students of law are required to demonstrate competence in certain disciplines
to attain admission to law school. The grounding in the disciplines is expected to demonstrate
competencies required to excel academically in law school. The purpose of this study is to investigate
the relevance of the law school admission test to predicting the competencies.
Design/methodology/approach – The assessment is based on administrative records of 815
students admitted at Makerere University’s law school on the basis of their performance in the test.
Grades obtained in advanced level (A-Level) of secondary education subjects, namely, literature,
history, divinity and economics, were adopted as a measure of competence in the disciplines. The
outcome of the test was modeled by performance of enrollees in the subject, their characteristics (gender,
nationality, entry scheme and academic qualifications at enrollment) and first-year grade point average
using a quantile regression.
Findings – With the exception of enrollees’ characteristics, no significant variations in the outcome of
the test were noted in the results between students who did not do the subjects at the A-Level and those
who obtained Grade A (p 0.05). Similar findings in performance were noted between students who
obtained Grade A and those with other grades in the disciplines.
Research limitations/implications – The findings confirm that admission tests to law school are a
measure of mental rather than educational or academic ability. However, the results may not be applied
to candidates in countries where a bachelor’s degree is a requirement for admission to law school.
Originality/value – The study provides an empirical investigation of whether the admission test to
law school predicts competencies required to excel academically in the undergraduate program.
Description
Keywords
Performance, Higher education, Undergraduates, Quality evaluation
Citation
Robert Wamala , (2016),"Do pre-entry tests predict competencies required to excel academically in law school?", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 24 Iss 2 pp. 211 - 226, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/QAE-05-2014-0019