Hsia-Lin Yao
College Entrance Examination Center
“Recommendation and Screening” (R & S) is a new procedure for admitting students to enter college in Taiwan. In R & S, students who meet the requirements set by the department they wish to study in are recommended by their high school. The candidates first need to take a Scholastic Achievement Test held by the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC). If the test results are satisfactory, they undergo another process known as the second stage screening held by each department. Students who are admitted by this procedure cannot transfer to other departments without a special review.
After the implementation of R&S, studies were conducted to evaluate the procedure. Results show that: (1)The academic performance of R & S students is better than the average performance of the students studying in the same department. (2) Colleges/universities, high schools, and students all agree that the procedure of admitting students via R & S allows students to get acquainted with university departments while in high school. Students take their interests, aptitudes, and talents into consideration when choosing departments. (3) R & S students pay more attention to personal interests, they have more definite long-term goals, and show more signs of confidence. (4) Non R & S students pay more attention to their academic records and act more arbitrarily. (5)There is no obvious difference in personality traits between R & S and non R & S students.
Keywords: Recommendation and Screening (R & S), academic records, selection effectiveness, characteristics of college students