Effects of Pre-Examination Disclousure of Essay Prompts for the GRE Analytical Writing Measure GRE
- Author(s):
- Powers, Donald 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, p5.7.1-5.7.4
- Document Type:
- Chapter
- Page Count:
- 4
- Subject/Key Words:
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Revised GRE, Graduate Admissions, Essay Prompts, Student Performance, Disclosure, GRE Writing Assessment, Analytical Writing Assessment
Abstract
Examines the impact of disclosing GRE essay prompts to test takers prior to the test administration. Disclosing essay topics can help candidates prepare for the test by allowing them to practice on actual topics, and disclosure provides a more level playing field for examinees who may not have access to the live topics that can be collected by coaching schools. Participants were sent 27, 54, or 108 essay prompts on which to practice. Although they were practicing for an actual operational test, most participants in the research study spent less than 1 hour practicing with the essays provided, and the number of prompts provided had a negligible effect on their study practices.