The added value of a new interviewing tool for the selection of candidates for the teaching profession Irit Levy-Feldman and Zipora Libman Department of Education, Kibbutzim College of Education Technology and the Arts, Tel Aviv, Israel Abstract Purpose – An interview is one of the most widely used tools in the admission of candidates for an academic study, particularly in the applied professions. The purpose of this paper is to present a study that assesses the quality of a new interview tool for the selection of teacher-training candidates, in order to find out its added value over other selection tools in use and to justify the effort invested in it. Design/methodology/approach – The study was longitudinal and was conducted over the course of a three-year period. The study population consisted of all the college’s undergraduate students that were candidates for the teaching profession. The information was processed quantitatively using descriptive as well as inferential statistics while addressing diverse comparisons. Findings – The main findings indicate a high quality of the new tool. The usage of the tool improved the selection procedure of qualified candidates, especially borderline candidates who would be rejected if using only the matriculation and the psychometric admission tools. A logistic regression model revealed the admission new interview tool to be the sole statistically significant predictor of enrollment in the college. The study reported the interview score to be the sole statistically significant predictive factor in the model that forecasts student field-practice grades, particularly in their first year of study. Originality/value – This information further corroborates that a good interview tool allows a more in-depth and well-based discussion about worthy candidates who do not meet the strict grade admission requirements. This invites discussion regarding the critical place of the interview in selection of candidates, especially in applied professions. Keywords Admission interview, Evaluation of candidates for higher education, Teacher-training candidates Paper type Research paper Introduction Like many institutions of higher education, teacher-training colleges maintain a system for candidate selection. The aim of the selection process is to ensure the admission of candidates who possess the potential for academic success, and the prerequisites needs to be develop during the training that are necessary for holding positions in the field of teaching and education (Levy-Feldman and Libman, 2004). In many teacher-training institutions, selection is conducted using different tools including the candidate’s high school grades (matriculation examination, GPA), the score on the standardized psychometric exam (ACT) or a combination of both. According to studies, these tools pose a high academic predictive validity. Nevertheless, in many institutions, suitability for admission is also conducted using different forms of interviews. Not like the other tools in use, the interview requires a lot of investment and money on behalf of the institute. The question whether it has added value over the other admission tools that are cheaper and proved to be effective in predicting academic metrics arises. The purpose of the study presented in this article was to examine the quality of a new interview selection tool for teaching candidates in a large teacher-training college in Israel, in Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Vol. 12 No. 2, 2020 pp. 330-343 © Emerald Publishing Limited 2050-7003 DOI 10.1108/JARHE-01-2019-0011 Received 17 January 2019 Revised 14 April 2019 Accepted 18 May 2019 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-7003.htm 330 JARHE 12,2