skip to main content skip to footer

The Impact of Self-Study on GRE Test Performance GREB GRE

Author(s):
Powers, Donald E.; Swinton, Spencer S.
Publication Year:
1985
Report Number:
RR-85-12
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
92
Subject/Key Words:
Graduate Record Examinations Board, Coaching, Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), Independent Study, Performance Factors

Abstract

The study reported here was intended to "round out" the GRE Board's continuing study of special test preparation for the GRE General Test by providing information that was previously unavailable on the effects of one kind of special test preparation--self-test-familiarization for the verbal and quantitative sections of the test and for the revised analytical portion. The impact of receiving, and of being encouraged to study, the newly expanded GRE Information Bulletin and copies of disclosed forms of the GRE General Test was investigated in an experimental design in which randomly selected samples of test takers were encouraged to prepare in various ways for the test. In a previous similar study of the analytical section of the test, self-study was found to improve performance on two analytical item types that were subsequently removed from the test. In the present study, no practically significant effects were detected for the verbal, quantitative, or revised analytical sections of the test.

Read More