A Comparative Analysis of University Entrance Examinations Using the Construct Comparability Approach

Evaluation processes are a fundamental tool for training and selecting students. However, there are no empirical studies in Spain that analyse the usefulness of assessment tests to measure academic performance. This study, based on research carried out using the construct comparability approach, conducts a comparative analysis of grades achieved by 6,709 students pertaining to 15 academic subject areas of the university entrance examinations (Pruebas de Acceso a la Universidad - PAU) administered in the province of Alicante (Spain). The partial-credit Rasch model is used as an estimation method in which each academic subject is regarded as an instrument item related to the measurement of the academic performance construct. The initial results exhibited unidimensionality, and all academic subject areas fit the model, although there was a lack of discrimination between high- and low-performing students, mainly due to the absence of monotonicity in the scoring categories. The difficulty levels of the academic subjects were found to be appropriate for the skill levels of most students. These results demonstrated the ability of the tests analysed to report on the academic performance of the students who took the tests. In addition, important conclusions are presented regarding improvements in the grading processes, and future research studies are proposed.