Guidelines for the Use of GRE® Scores*

• Test Fairness and Score Use
• Introduction
• Policies
• Guidelines
• Normally Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of GRE Scores
• Appropriate Uses
• Inappropriate Uses

The GRE Board has adopted a statement regarding fair and appropriate use of GRE scores.

Test Fairness and Score Use

ETS and the GRE Program have taken steps to ensure, to the extent possible, that tests and test scores are fair for all test takers, regardless of group membership.

The GRE Guide to the Use of Scores (PDF) summarizes the considerations for appropriate use of GRE test scores and encourages institutions to use GRE scores appropriately.

Introduction

These guidelines have been adopted by the Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE) Board to provide information about the appropriate use of GRE test scores for those who use the scores in graduate admissions and fellowship selection processes and for other approved purposes. They are also intended to protect students from unfair decisions that may result from inappropriate uses of scores. Adherence to the guidelines is important.

The GRE General Test and Subject Tests are designed to assess academic knowledge and skills relevant to graduate study. As measures with known statistical properties and high-quality technical characteristics, the scores from these tests, when used properly, can improve graduate admissions and fellowship selection processes.

Any GRE test, however, has two primary limitations:

1. It does not and cannot measure all the qualities that are important in predicting success in graduate study or in confirming undergraduate achievement.
2. It is an inexact measure; that is, only score differences that exceed the standard error of measurement of a given score can serve as reliable indications of real differences in academic knowledge and developed abilities.

Although limitations and cautions apply to all admissions measures, the GRE Board has a particular obligation to inform users of the appropriate uses of GRE scores and to identify and try to rectify instances of misuse. To this end, the following policies and guidelines are available to all GRE test takers, institutions, and organizations that are recipients of GRE scores.

Back to Top

Policies

In recognition of its obligation to ensure the appropriate use of GRE scores, the GRE Board has developed policies designed to make score reports available only to approved recipients, to encourage these score users to become knowledgeable about the validity of the tests, to protect the confidentiality of examinees' scores, and to follow up on cases of possible misuse of scores. The policies are discussed below.

Score recipients. Undergraduate and graduate institutions and non-degree-granting organizations that award graduate fellowships are eligible for consideration as score recipients. Institutions and organizations that do not meet either one of these requirements are, in general, not eligible to be score recipients. The GRE Board retains the right to make exceptions to this policy in special circumstances.

Validity. The general appropriateness of using GRE test scores for graduate admissions, fellowship selection, and other approved purposes has been established by research studies carried out by ETS and others, as well as by studies conducted through the GRE Validity Study Service. GRE scores may be appropriate for some other purposes, but it is important for the user to validate their use for those purposes. To assist institutions in evaluating proposed uses, these guidelines include information about appropriate and inappropriate uses.

Confidentiality. GRE scores, whether for an individual or aggregated for an institution, are confidential and can be released only by authorization of the individual or institution or by compulsion of legal process.

Use of scores in aggregated form. Information based on GRE scores may be useful to prospective students, but use of a precise mean or median should be avoided. Graduate programs and institutions are urged to report GRE scores in ranges such as the highest and lowest scores of the middle 50 percent of the admitted students. Presenting information by score ranges emphasizes the diversity of individual scores for any one graduate program or institution, and also makes clear the overlap of scores among graduate programs and institutions.

Use of GRE scores in aggregated form as a measure for ranking or rating graduate programs, institutions, university systems, or states is strongly discouraged except when the scores are used as one indicator among several appropriate indicators of educational quality.

Encouragement of appropriate use and investigation of reported misuse. All users of GRE scores have an obligation to use the scores in accordance with published GRE Board policies and guidelines. Institutions have a responsibility to ensure that all individuals using GRE scores are aware of the GRE Board score-use policies and guidelines and to monitor the use of the scores, correcting instances of misuse when they are identified. The GRE Program staff is available to assist institutions in resolving score-misuse issues.

Back to Top

Guidelines

1. Use Multiple Criteria
   

   Regardless of the decision to be made, multiple sources of information should be used to ensure fairness and balance the limitations of any single measure of knowledge, skills, or abilities. These sources may include undergraduate grade point average, letters of recommendation, personal statement, samples of academic work, and professional experience related to proposed graduate study. GRE scores should not be used exclusively.
   
   Use of multiple criteria is particularly important when using GRE scores to assess the abilities of educationally disadvantaged students, students whose primary language is not English, and students who are returning to school after an extended absence. Score users are urged to become familiar with factors affecting score interpretation for these groups.

2. Accept Only Official GRE Score Reports
   

   The only official reports of GRE scores are those issued by ETS and sent directly to approved institutions and organizations designated by the test takers and to vendors the score recipients might designate to process the scores they receive. Scores obtained from other sources should not be accepted. If there is a question about the authenticity of a score report, the question should be referred to ETS. ETS will verify the accuracy of the scores and whether an official report was issued.

3. Conduct Validity Studies
   

   Departments using GRE scores for graduate admissions, fellowship awards, and other approved purposes are encouraged to collect validity information by conducting their own studies. The GRE Program staff will provide advice on the design of appropriate validation studies without charge.

4. Maintain Confidentiality of GRE Scores
   

   All individuals who have access to GRE scores should be aware of the confidential nature of the scores and agree to maintain their confidentiality. Institutional policies should be developed to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. For example, GRE scores should not be placed on documents sent outside the institution.

5. Consider Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing Scores as Three Separate and Independent Measures
   

   Since the level of skills in verbal, quantitative and analytical writing abilities required for success in graduate school varies by field or department, Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing scores should not be combined. In some cases, departments may wish to establish weights for the three measures, given the program's emphasis on particular skills. This is appropriate only when based upon empirical evidence, such as a validity study.

6. Consider Carefully Any Use of a Composite Measure
   

   A cutoff score based only on GRE scores should never be used as a sole criterion for denial of admission. The use of a cutoff score combining Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing is especially problematic because the scales for the measures differ greatly. Any department considering the use of a cutoff score should compile a rationale justifying the appropriateness of such a score for each measure: 1) evidence that the proposed cutoff score for the measure usefully distinguishes between individuals who are likely to succeed in graduate school and those who are not, and 2) the impact of the proposed cutoff score on the institution's goals related to diversity.

7. Conduct Reviews of Subject Test Content
   

   Although each Subject Test is developed and updated regularly by a committee of examiners composed of individuals who are actively teaching in the field, the match between the test and the curriculum in a given department may not be exact and may vary over time. Departments, therefore, are encouraged to review copies of the relevant tests periodically to verify the appropriateness of their content. Download the free practice books.

8. Avoid Decisions Based on Small Score Differences
   

   Small differences in GRE scores (as defined by the standard error of measurement) should not be used to make distinctions among examinees. Standard errors of measurement (SEMs) vary by test and are available in the GRE Guide to the Use of Scores (PDF) for the General Test.

9. Do Not Compare Scores from Different Tests
   

   GRE General Test scores are not directly comparable with scores on other graduate or undergraduate admission tests. Subject Test scores should be compared only with other scores on the same Subject Tests (for example, a 680 on the Physics Test is not equivalent to a 680 on the Chemistry Test). Percentile ranks should be compared only if they are based on the same reference population.

10. Recognize Limitations of Scores Earned on Tests Taken Under Special Conditions
    

    GRE tests are offered with special arrangements and test materials to accommodate the needs of students with visual, physical, hearing, and learning disabilities. Depending upon the nature and extent of the disability, the scores may not accurately reflect a student's educational achievement. For some students, the nature of their disabilities may make it advisable to waive GRE test score requirements.

Back to Top

Normally Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses of GRE Scores

The suitability of a GRE test for a particular use should be explicitly examined before using test scores for that purpose. The following lists of appropriate and inappropriate uses of GRE scores are based on the policies and guidelines outlined above. The lists are meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive, in nature. There may be other appropriate uses of GRE scores, particularly for nonadmissions purposes, but any uses other than those listed below should be discussed in advance with GRE Program staff to determine their appropriateness.

If a use other than those appropriate uses listed below is contemplated, it will be important for the user to validate the use of scores for that purpose. The GRE Program staff will provide advice on the design of such validity studies without charge.

Subject Test scores may be considered for the award of undergraduate credit only in the field of the test and only when a rationale has been developed that discusses the relationship between GRE Subject Test scores and the amount of credit awarded. This rationale must be made available to users of any transcripts that contain credit awarded in this manner.

Back to Top

Appropriate Uses

Provided all applicable guidelines are adhered to, General Test and Subject Test scores are suitable for the following uses:

1. selection of applicants for admission to graduate school
2. selection of graduate fellowship applicants for awards
3. selection of graduate teaching or research assistants
4. guidance and counseling for graduate study

Back to Top

Inappropriate Uses

1. Requirement of a minimum score on the General Test for conferral of a degree, credit-by-examination, advancement to candidacy, or any noneducational purpose
2. Requirement of scores on the General Test or Subject Tests for employment decisions, including hiring, salary, promotion, tenure, or retention (except for the awarding of assistantships to graduate students)
3. Use of any measure involving a summation of Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing scores, or any subset of these scores, without first conducting and documenting a validity study to establish an appropriate weight for each measure

*Revised and approved by the GRE Executive Committee in June 2002, for implementation in October 2002.

Back to Top