Identifying Writing Tasks Important for Academic Success at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels GRE
- Author(s):
- Rosenfeld, Michael; Courtney, Rosalea G.; Fowles, Mary E.
- Publication Year:
- 2014
- Source:
- Wendler, Cathy; Bridgeman, Brent (eds.) with assistance from Chelsea Ezzo. The Research Foundation for the GRE revised General Test: A Compendium of Studies. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 2014, p1.7.1-1.7.4
- Document Type:
- Chapter
- Page Count:
- 4
- Subject/Key Words:
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Revised GRE, Analytical Writing, Test Revision, Graduate Students, Test Validity, Writing Tasks, Academic Achievement
Abstract
Investigates the alignment of the skills measured by the Analytical Writing measure with those writing tasks thought to be important for academic success at both the master’s and doctoral level. Data were gathered using a survey of writing tasks statements. The survey was completed by 720 graduate faculty members across six disciplines: English, education, psychology, natural sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Results indicated that faculty who taught master’s level students ranked the statements, on average, as moderately important to very important. Faculty who taught doctoral level students ranked the statements, on average, as moderately important to extremely important. In addition, those skills thought to be necessary to score well on the GRE Analytical Writing measure were judged to be important for successfully performing on the writing tasks statements. The findings of this study provided foundational support for the continuation of the Analytical Writing measure.