Performance of students in low-stakes testing situations has been a concern and focus of recent research. However, researchers who have examined the effect of stakes on performance have not been able to compare low-stakes performance to truly high-stakes performance of the same students. Results of such a comparison are reported in this article.…

In this research report, we present an empirical argument for the use of a contributory scoring approach for the 2-essay writing assessment of the analytical writing section of the "GRE"® test in which human and machine scores are combined for score creation at the task and section levels. The approach was designed to replace a currently…

In the summer of 2013, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued public, highly-visible ratings of teacher education programs as part of their ambitious and controversial Teacher Prep Review. We provide the first empirical examination of NCTQ ratings, beginning with a descriptive overview of the ratings and documentation of how they…

The report is the first systematic evaluation of the sentence equivalence item type introduced by the "GRE"® revised General Test. We adopt a validity framework to guide our investigation based on Kane's approach to validation whereby a hierarchy of inferences that should be documented to support score meaning and interpretation is…

International institutions have been increasingly using the "GRE"® revised General Test to admit students to graduate programs.However, little is known about how scores from the GRE revised General Test are used in the admission process outside of the United States and their validity in predicting graduate students' performance (e.g.,…

This study examines how GRE scores can be used to better understand Education doctoral candidates' methodology choices for the dissertation as well as their persistence behaviors. Candidates' of one online doctoral education program were examined. Results of a MANOVA suggested that there is no difference in GRE scores based on doctoral candidates'…

The "e-rater"® automated essay scoring system is used operationally in the scoring of the argument and issue tasks that form the Analytical Writing measure of the "GRE"® General Test. For each of these tasks, this study explored the value added of reporting 4 trait scores for each of these 2 tasks over the total e-rater score.…

This paper proposes an alternative content measure for essay scoring, based on the "difference" in the relative frequency of a word in high-scored versus low-scored essays. The "differential word use" (DWU) measure is the average of these differences across all words in the essay. A positive value indicates the essay is using…

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Tests and GRE advanced Psychology (PSYGRE) Test were correlated with several measures of success in our graduate program at Sam Houston State University including some specific courses. Significant correlations were obtained for several of these measures, but the PSYGRE provided incremental validity…

This study was conducted at a research-extensive public university in the southeastern United States. It examined the retention and completion of master's degree students across numerous disciplines. Results were derived from a series of descriptive statistics, T-tests, and a series of binary logistic regression models. The findings from binary…

In order to estimate the likely effects on item difficulty when a calculator becomes available on the quantitative section of the Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®-Q), 168 items (in six 28-item forms) were administered either with or without access to an on-screen four-function calculator. The forms were administered as a special research…

Graduate Record Examination and Miller Analogies Test scores were equated using linear transformation and regression methods. Standard deviations of regression equivalence scores were consistently smaller than those actually obtained in the sample, whereas standard deviations of linear equivalence scores were the same as those in the sample.…

MAT and GRE scores were equated by regression, conditional mean, linear and equipercentile methods using data from a sample that had taken both tests. The regression and linear methods were preferred, and shown to be equivalent when the correlation between scales is perfect. (Author/RL)

This paper explores alternative approaches for facilitating efficient, evidence-centered item development for a new type of verbal reasoning item developed for use on the GRE® General Test. Results obtained in two separate studies are reported. The first study documented the development and validation of a fully automated approach for locating the…

This study examined the relationship between the need for cognition, defined as the tendency to engage in effortful cognitive activity, and metacognition which is one's thinking about thinking and how these variables relate to intellectual task performance. Participants completed measures of need for cognition, metacognition, and problem-solved…