What are your opinions on standardize testing?

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by See If This Works

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).

You are correct of course. But expect your home to be pummeled with rotten fruit, eggs and garbage by sunset.

And to drive your point home we absolutely must have broad based standardized testing to decide which of our HS grad legions with 3.5-4.0-5.0 or whatever GPA should go to Stanford v. which should go to East Pig Knuckle College.

ETA - same logic applies to college and grad. school.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Tinawina

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.

The problem with your implied thesis is across the numbers standardized tests, and i'll cede the GRE might be the worst of the bunch, correlate VASTLY better than grades vis a vis grad school success.

Take medical school. Among all college grads in relevant undergrad areas with 3.75-4.00 GPA are you really going to claim that - that cadre has better chances than the cadre who made say 510+ on the new MCAT?


I'll try to find but a math guy from Cornell wrote an case closing paper about all this a few years ago.

[Tinawina]

Originally Posted by EDS_

The problem with your implied thesis is across the numbers standardized tests, and i'll cede the GRE might be the worst of the bunch, correlate VASTLY better than grades vis a vis grad school success.

Take medical school. Among all college grads in relevant undergrad areas with 3.75-4.00 GPA are you really going to claim that - that cadre has better chances than the cadre who made say 510+ on the new MCAT?


I'll try to find but a math guy from Cornell wrote an case closing paper about all this a few years ago.

??? I made no such arguments about the MCAT, LSAT, etc. I said that UNLIKE the GRE, those at least have some correlation with success in their programs because they directly test the skills needed.

They are not perfect (there are a lot of outliers, especially for the LSAT) but they at least get you in the ballpark.

The poster I was quoting implied they were dead on predictors and I was saying they weren’t as accurate as he was implying, but I never said grades were better predictors.

And as far as the GRE, one of the articles I posted said past research activity and such were better predictors for programs that use the GRE. I’m not sure that article mentioned GPAs either.