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I have to take the GRE for grad school, and I’ve just had enough with standardized tests! I just think they are so pointless and should be illegal! All they do is make you try to study things that are just impossible to study, get you all rattled, and try to prevent you from getting into school. And they create a lot of misery and stress for students like me because we know we can’t get into school if we don’t do well on them. As a result, we do poorly, and our true potential can never be revealed to the schools we are applying. What are your opinions on standardized testing? Do you think they should be banned like I do? Or do you support them? And if you support them, what is your reason for doing so?
The GRE is actually becoming more controversial because it turns out in a lot of disciplines it has little correlation with grad school success. Apparently the undergrad record is way more reliable. Some grad programs are dropping the requirement all together.
That said that's the way the game is played. For now, you have to take it.
If it's any consolation most grad school programs look at your whole record (so they test alone is not a determinant) and allow you add a paragraph or two to explain the context of your grades. If you can get a doctor to verify that you have some sort of test anxiety then you can let them know.
Standardized tests are necessary, since they are the only measure where everybody is held to the same standard. Not only is every high school (or college) different, but different teachers (or professors) at the same school can have very different grading standards.
I have to take the GRE for grad school, and I’ve just had enough with standardized tests! I just think they are so pointless and should be illegal! All they do is make you try to study things that are just impossible to study, get you all rattled, and try to prevent you from getting into school. And they create a lot of misery and stress for students like me because we know we can’t get into school if we don’t do well on them. As a result, we do poorly, and our true potential can never be revealed to the schools we are applying. What are your opinions on standardized testing? Do you think they should be banned like I do? Or do you support them? And if you support them, what is your reason for doing so?
As GPA is school dependent, standardized testing is necessary.
It's the best predictor of academic success with a 25% to 30% correlation. That doesn't sound like much but nothing else comes close. Furthermore, the ONLY criteria for college admission should be 100% objective criteria such as SAT/ACT and maybe GPA (but a 4.0 GPA in Watts isn't the same as a 4.0 GPA in Irvine).
I agree with you.
My grad program didn't require the GRE...it required the Miller's Analogy Test. Petrified me. I passed with flying colors.
And I'm sure someone is going to say that standardized tests are just hoops to jump through, but that's an oversimplification. Students come from thousands of public and private schools, and the standardized tests somewhat level the playing field.
Standardized tests are necessary, since they are the only measure where everybody is held to the same standard. Not only is every high school (or college) different, but different teachers (or professors) at the same school can have very different grading standards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UnfairPark
As GPA is school dependent, standardized testing is necessary.
One would think that, but research shows the opposite:
I have to take the GRE for grad school, and I’ve just had enough with standardized tests! I just think they are so pointless and should be illegal! All they do is make you try to study things that are just impossible to study, get you all rattled, and try to prevent you from getting into school. And they create a lot of misery and stress for students like me because we know we can’t get into school if we don’t do well on them. As a result, we do poorly, and our true potential can never be revealed to the schools we are applying. What are your opinions on standardized testing? Do you think they should be banned like I do? Or do you support them? And if you support them, what is your reason for doing so?
So, the question started with a passionate 'opinion.' And wasn't a question. So, you don't like standardized tests because of...what, misery and stress? Grow up, grad school isn't Nancy's Dancing Academy. At S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, they flunked students out left and right (13% of the class that started didn't finish, most due to flunk out aka failure to perform). Welcome to the professional world, it gets NO easier out there in "real" jobs with responsibility and leadership at small to large corporations.
Uh, okay, so I'll provide the following:
IF standardized tests correlate well with performance in (grad school, law school, B-school), then they have value. The GRE, LSAT, and GMAT in particular.
At B-School, the business stats prof indicated that indeed, GMAT score correlated amazingly well to student's overall GPA end of the program. Thus all else being equal, GMAT was an excellent predictor of success at that B School (Queen's University, Ontario, btw).
Therefore, GMAT (and GPA) were awesome measures of a student's "true potential" for our Class. Mmkay? Look, I graduated 40th of 83 in my class. I'm smart, but no world-class intellect. And that is about the clearest measurement I've ever had of my "true potential," including how far I have (or have not) risen since. My GMAT score, which was pretty darn good but not "awe inspiring," reflected pretty accurately how I ended up, too.
If that doesn't make sense, Houston We Have a Problem.
Now: I can't speak to LSAT, but what do you want to bet...similar correlation to outcomes? All things being equal, not including "affirmative action" or other racist nonsense that is being swept away step-by-step these days.
So, the question started with a passionate 'opinion.' And wasn't a question. So, you don't like standardized tests because of...what, misery and stress? Grow up, grad school isn't Nancy's Dancing Academy. At S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, they flunked students out left and right (13% of the class that started didn't finish, most due to flunk out aka failure to perform). Welcome to the professional world, it gets NO easier out there in "real" jobs with responsibility and leadership at small to large corporations.
Uh, okay, so I'll provide the following:
IF standardized tests correlate well with performance in (grad school, law school, B-school), then they have value. The GRE, LSAT, and GMAT in particular.
At B-School, the business stats prof indicated that indeed, GMAT score correlated amazingly well to student's overall GPA end of the program. Thus all else being equal, GMAT was an excellent predictor of success at that B School (Queen's University, Ontario, btw).
Therefore, GMAT (and GPA) were awesome measures of a student's "true potential" for our Class. Mmkay? Look, I graduated 40th of 83 in my class. I'm smart, but no world-class intellect. And that is about the clearest measurement I've ever had of my "true potential," including how far I have (or have not) risen since. My GMAT score, which was pretty darn good but not "awe inspiring," reflected pretty accurately how I ended up, too.
If that doesn't make sense, Houston We Have a Problem.
Now: I can't speak to LSAT, but what do you want to bet...similar correlation to outcomes? All things being equal, not including "affirmative action" or other racist nonsense that is being swept away step-by-step these days.
The OP specifically mentioned having to take the GRE, not the GMAT or the LSAT. Those are specialized tests (along with the MCAT) that correlate fairly decently (but not as well as implied here) since they directly test the skills needed to succeed in their programs. The GRE is a general exam doesn't correlate to grad school performance.
My grad program didn't require the GRE...it required the Miller's Analogy Test. Petrified me. I passed with flying colors.
And I'm sure someone is going to say that standardized tests are just hoops to jump through, but that's an oversimplification. Students come from thousands of public and private schools, and the standardized tests somewhat level the playing field.
I took the Miller Analogy Test too. It is a test of general knowledge and of reasoning. I did well. But honestly I bought a study guide for it before I took it.
I took the GRE as an undergraduate. My major was English Education. The questions seemed to concentrate on the Restoration period in English Lit, which I was was just that semester beginning to study. I did not do well. If you have to take it, buy a study guide.
Standardized tests should be used along with other things to assess someone’s ability to be successful in a course of study. Unfortunately, schools often become too focused on the coming test, and they end up teaching the test, instead of the subject.
The hardest important test I ever took was an a written test to get my Masters. I studied for it for months.
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There has to be some kind of measurement to determine who gets into graduate school, with the limited seats, and currently GRE is the most common. If it's determined to be flawed, some other standardized test will take it's place. They will not be banned. People like me that took the GRE ended up with 4.0 in graduate school (years ago) but I suspect that the exam has not kept up with changes in the more recent high school and college curriculum and the diversity of the students.
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