ETS and the GRE® Program make ensuring the fairness and validity of GRE
tests throughout the test development, administration and scoring
processes a high priority. To ensure that these goals are reached, ETS
has developed a meticulous system of internal checks and balances, and
audit teams routinely verify that all tests and services meet rigorous
professional standards such as those outlined by the American
Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association and
National Council on Measurement in Education.
Fairness
Fairness concerns are an integral part of the development and scoring
of all tests. The many activities that ensure fairness include:
- involvement of minority educators and representative committees in every phase of the development and scoring processes
- multiple fairness evaluations by trained reviewers
- routine analyses of test questions to establish that questions do not unfairly contribute to group differences
- rigorous training for all persons involved in the development or scoring of test questions to ensure that all examinees have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities
- appropriate accommodations (e.g., ZoomText®, extra time) for examinees who may need them
Validity
Validity research and analyses establish that the test measures what
it is supposed to measure. The GRE Program has documented evidence of
the following types of validity in GRE tests:
- construct validity (the test measures the skills/abilities that should be measured)
- content validity (the test measures appropriate content)
- predictive validity (the test predicts success)
- consequential validity (the test demonstrates that adverse consequences are minimal)
- external validity (the test has the expected relationship with other measures of the same construct)
Although ETS works to accumulate validity evidence at each stage of
the delivery and scoring process, the initial impetus for validity
research comes from feedback from members of the graduate school
community, who provide information about the skills and abilities that
they consider essential for success in graduate school.
Verbal Reasoning Measure
The Verbal Reasoning measure of the GRE® revised General Test assesses
verbal reasoning skills. These skills have been identified by graduate
and business school deans and faculty as critical for success in
graduate and business school. The capabilities that are assessed
include:
- the ability to understand text (such as the ability to understand the meanings of sentences, to summarize a text, or to distinguish major points from irrelevant points in a passage)
- the ability to interpret discourse (such as the ability to draw conclusions, to infer missing information or to identify assumptions)
Quantitative Reasoning Measure
The Quantitative Reasoning measure of the GRE revised General Test
assesses quantitative reasoning skills. The skills assessed are
consistent with capabilities outlined in the Mathematical Association of
America's Quantitative Reasoning for College Graduates: A Complement to
the Standards and are based on feedback from faculty surveys. The
capabilities that are assessed in the GRE Quantitative Reasoning measure
include:
- reading and understanding quantitative information
- interpreting and analyzing quantitative information, including drawing inferences from data
- using mathematical methods to solve quantitative problems
