We show that it is possible to learn to identify, with high accuracy, the native language of English test takers from the content of the essays they write. Our method uses standard text classification techniques based on multiclass logistic regression, combining individually weak indicators to predict the most probable native language from a set of 11 possibilities. We describe the various feat...

This article uses a longitudinal survey of registrants for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) to compare the gender wage gap among MBA recipients with the gap among nonrecipients. We find evidence that the gender wage gap is lower among GMAT takers who obtained the MBA than among those who did not. This suggests that women with advanced degrees may face less discrimination in labor m...

With computerized testing, it is possible to record both the responses of test takers to test questions (i.e., items) and the amount of time spent by a test taker in responding to each question. Various models have been proposed that take into account both test-taker ability and working speed, with the many models assuming a constant working speed throughout the test. The constant working speed...

BACKGROUND The relation between H pylori infection and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the pathogenesis of peptic-ulcer disease is controversial. We undertook a meta-analysis to address this issue. METHODS By computer and manually we sought observational studies on the prevalence of peptic-ulcer disease in adult NSAID takers or the prevalence of H pylori infection and...

Critics of educational admissions tests assert that tests measure nothing more than socioeconomic status (SES) and that their apparent validity in predicting academic performance is an artifact of SES. The authors examined multiple large data sets containing data on admissions and related tests, SES, and grades showing that (a) SES is related to test scores (r = .42 among the population of SAT ...

Test anxiety was a commonly known or assumed factor that could greatly influence performance of test takers. With the employment of designed questionnaires and computer-based spoken English test, this paper explored test anxiety manifestation of Chinese college students from both macro and micro aspects, and found out that the major anxiety in computer-based spoken English test was spoken Engli...

Employees make decisions every day about whether to contribute to others--and their willingness to help is crucial to group and organizational effectiveness. But in a competitive, often zero-sum, world of work, generosity can be a dangerous path. How can leaders foster it without cutting into productivity, undermining fairness, and allowing employees to become doormats? The key, explains Wharto...

There are a variety of reasons someone might engage in risky behaviors, such as perceived invulnerability to harm or a belief that negative outcomes are more likely for others than for oneself. However, these risk-taking biases are often measured at a decision-making level or from the developmental perspective. Here we assessed whether or not risk-taking influenced perceptual judgments associat...