In 2007 and 2010, the National Research Council reported that the United States was not producing enough graduates in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive global economy. Despite recent challenges to these findings, one thing remains clear: Underrepresented…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which universities use the "GRE"® General Test scores to award merit-based fellowships to first-year graduate students in doctoral programs. While GRE use in fellowship award decisions is a common practice, there is very little validity evidence to support its use in this context.…

Accurately predicting the success of graduate students is an important aspect of determining which students should be admitted into graduate programs. The GRE is a pivotal factor to examine since it is one of the most widely used criteria for graduate school admission. Even though the GRE is advertised as an accurate tool for predicting first year…

Assessing student attainment in the major field of study is increasingly important to employers and accrediting bodies alike. Construction and manufacturing firms do not like engineers who design faulty bridges and airplanes. Marketing firms want to hire students who understand the difference between a niche market and a global market. School…

Business and economics students performed significantly poorer than arts and science students on course tests and on the School and College Aptitude Test and the Graduate Record Examination. (PT)

Describes a study that found that undergraduate grade-point average and number of semester hours completed in psychology do influence student performance on the psychology test of the Graduate Record Examination. However, this and previous studies have not revealed academic factors to be the strongest influence. More research is needed. (RM)

Examination of 63 graduate students' trait and state anxiety scores and their Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores reveals that students with higher GRE scores or lower A-trait anxiety scores are more likely to achieve higher first semester grade point averages. (RL)

Effects of ethnic/racial diversity among students and faculty on cognitive growth of undergraduate students are estimated via a series of hierarchical linear and multinomial logistic regression models. Using objective measures of compositional, curricular, and interactional diversity based on actuarial course enrollment records of over 6,000…

This report describes the "Differential Coursework Patterns (DCP) Project," which developed the Cluster Analytic Model (CAM) to look at effects of different patterns of college coursework on the general learned abilities of students as determined by such measures as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. The model looks for…

Studies the quality of graduating science education majors at Brigham Young University (BYU) and attempts to identify possible trends in the ability of students who entered secondary school science teaching. Concludes that there was no manifested trend toward lower quality college students entering the science teaching profession at BYU. (CW)

Thirty eight studies which employed Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores in predicting success in graduate study are reviewed. The report is presented in four sections--summary of findings by major field of study (23 different major fields); 21 studies employing varied criteria of success; 13 studies employing grade-point average as the…

Data from the National Science Foundation Fellowship applicant records and the NRC Office of Scientific Personnel Doctorate Records File were utilized to evaluate the potential of GRE Aptitude and Advanced Tests as predictors of whether or not the candidate attained the doctorate within a period of from seven to ten years. In addition, the study…

This study planned further research aimed at understanding how the current version of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) analytical measure reflects cognitive skills that are important to success in graduate education. Several activities were completed, including selective literature reviews of: (1) cognitive and psychometric research on…

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Cooperative Validity Studies Project began in 1975 to fill the need for cooperation between graduate schools and testing agencies and for graduate level validity studies. More than 150 data sets from the 39 participating schools, representing over 19 fields of study, were analyzed. The data confirmed earlier…

The effects of college environments on student achievement on three GRE area achievement tests, when the initial ability of students was controlled were studied. A wide variety of environmental measures for 95 colleges were included. The method computed within-school regression lines, then colleges were clustered on regression lines, using a…