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Background variables of CETA students and performance in medical terminologyLayman, Dale Pierre January 1978 (has links)
The purpose of this study was to determine which variables in the backgrounds of CETA. (Comprehensive Employment Training Act) Medical Records students affected their performance in Medical Terminology course-work. More specifically, the aim of the research was to delineate those variables which had a statistically significant correlation the students' numerical final exam score in Medical Terminology.All data for the study' were generated in the course of teaching a 3-credit hour college class in Medical Terminology at Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Illinois. The 4 3 subjects, all female students in the Medical Records CETA Program at Joliet Junior College, had widely diversified personal backgrounds. They ranged in age from 18 to the late 40’s. Some were married. Some were divorced. Some were separated. Still others remained single. Most of the students were white. A smaller fraction were black, and a still smaller number were Oriental. The educational level of the students varied widely. Several of the subjects had not been beyond the tenth grade, while at the other extreme, a fear students had achieved the rough equivalent of bachelor's degrees. Some of the students achieved high verbal aptitude and general intelligence scores, while many others had low or average scores. Interview scores, intended to "rank" students by various personality characteristics, showed much less individual deviation.Seven independent variables of student race, marital status, age, interview score (determined by a CETA Vocational Counselor), general intelligence and verbal aptitude scores (according to the General Aptitude Test Battery)., and educational level, were each correlated with the dependent variable of Medical Terminology final exam score.A survey of related background literature had suggested that verbal aptitude had an enhancing effect on performance in exams involving usage of grammatical terms. Likewise, educational level was seen to generally raise standardized test scores. General intelligence scores were reported to significantly affect academic and work performance of soma kinds, but to not affect others. Marital status was judged to often be involved in degree of responsibility and attitude toward completion of educational tasks. Race membership was shown to significantly effect performance on verbal tests, at least when these tests were "weighted" in favor of whites over blacks due to a "middleclass bias" of questions emphasizing lifestyles not experienced by many poorer blacks. Chronologic age was reported to be generally an asset to verbal performance, as long as this verbal performance was one benefiting from practical experience rather than one relying on speeded tests to gauge verbal competence. Student attitude was considered to be of importance in perseverance of educational task accomplishment.The final exam in Medical Terminology was subjected to item analysis by the Ball State University Testing Center and found to have sufficient reliability, discrimination, and validity to be effectively employed as a research tool.For example, reliability of the Medical Terminology final exam was determined by both the split-half technique and by the Kuder Richardson formula number 20 and 21 : reliabilities were found to range from the .70's to the .80's. Most items analyzed also had a satisfactory (0.20 - 0.39) or superior (0.40 or higher) level of discrimination. Finally, the majority of items on the computer-analyzed final exam had validity indices in the .70’s and .80's range.A stepwise regression analysis was conducted in order to ascertain the relative correlation of each of the seven independent variables with the dependent variable of Medical Terminology final exams scores. Those independent variables having a statistically significant correlation were inserted into an equation for prediction of Medical Terminology final exam score. Review of the data led to the following conclusions:According to the prediction equation, verbal aptitude was he best predictor of final exam score in Medical Terminology, followed by educational levels. Although the effect of educational level was not in itself its inclusion in the equation added 31/o of the variance. The other five independent variables of race, age, marital status, and interview score, and general intelligence had no effect on Medical Terminology final exam scores.Conclusions of this study were generally that both verbal aptitude scores and level of education could be useful in the counseling and admissions process in the CETA Medical Records Program at Joliet Junior College, as well as in other similar CETA programs located in other cities.For example, CETA admissions personnel could put more weight on a student's verbal aptitude score than on his general intelligence score, verbal aptitude having been shown to be significantly correlated with Medical Terminology final exam score, whereas general intelligence score has not been found to be significantly correlated with this score. In addition, "borderline" applicants to the Medical Records Program could be accepted on the basis of extensive educational experience and good performance on verbal aptitude tests, even when scores in other areas were fairly low.It was also judged that study findings could be used in the counseling of students who would be more likely to fail the Medical Terminology coarse.In the instance of an individual who was admitted to the CETA Medical Records Program in spite of poor performance on verbal aptitude tests, special advice and counseling, or even additional tutorial sessions, could be applied in order to bring the student up to the expected level of verbal performance.Still other possibilities drawn from the findings were that CETA Vocational Counselors could better detect the root causes of poor performance by the students. For example, if an individual received low grades on Medical Terminology tests but had a high level of verbal aptitude, this would suggest that the student's problems lay elsewhere, such as with difficulties in his homelife or in his particular social situation. Thus, the CETA counselors could concentrate on ameliorating these social difficulties rather than on assisting the student in the development of pre-existing verbal skills.
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