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The Limitations of the GRE in Predicting Success in Biomedical Graduate School

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  • Liane Moneta-Koehler
  • Abigail M Brown
  • Kimberly A Petrie
  • Brent J Evans
  • Roger Chalkley

Abstract

Historically, admissions committees for biomedical Ph.D. programs have heavily weighed GRE scores when considering applications for admission. The predictive validity of GRE scores on graduate student success is unclear, and there have been no recent investigations specifically on the relationship between general GRE scores and graduate student success in biomedical research. Data from Vanderbilt University Medical School’s biomedical umbrella program were used to test to what extent GRE scores can predict outcomes in graduate school training when controlling for other admissions information. Overall, the GRE did not prove useful in predicating who will graduate with a Ph.D., pass the qualifying exam, have a shorter time to defense, deliver more conference presentations, publish more first author papers, or obtain an individual grant or fellowship. GRE scores were found to be moderate predictors of first semester grades, and weak to moderate predictors of graduate GPA and some elements of a faculty evaluation. These findings suggest admissions committees of biomedical doctoral programs should consider minimizing their reliance on GRE scores to predict the important measures of progress in the program and student productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Liane Moneta-Koehler & Abigail M Brown & Kimberly A Petrie & Brent J Evans & Roger Chalkley, 2017. "The Limitations of the GRE in Predicting Success in Biomedical Graduate School," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0166742
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166742
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Casey Miller & Keivan Stassun, 2014. "A test that fails," Nature, Nature, vol. 510(7504), pages 303-304, June.
    2. Eric P. Bettinger & Brent J. Evans & Devin G. Pope, 2013. "Improving College Performance and Retention the Easy Way: Unpacking the ACT Exam," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 26-52, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Linda Sealy & Christina Saunders & Jeffrey Blume & Roger Chalkley, 2019. "The GRE over the entire range of scores lacks predictive ability for PhD outcomes in the biomedical sciences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Natalia Maloshonok & Evgeniy Terentev, 2019. "Towards the New Model of Doctoral Education: The Experience of Enhancing Doctoral Programs in Russian Universities," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 3, pages 8-42.
    3. Ambika Mathur & Christine S Chow & Andrew L Feig & Heidi Kenaga & Judith A Moldenhauer & Nisansala S Muthunayake & Mathew L Ouellett & Laura E Pence & Victoria Straub, 2018. "Exposure to multiple career pathways by biomedical doctoral students at a public research university," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Sandra L Petersen & Evelyn S Erenrich & Dovev L Levine & Jim Vigoreaux & Krista Gile, 2018. "Multi-institutional study of GRE scores as predictors of STEM PhD degree completion: GRE gets a low mark," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Малошонок Н. Г. & Терентьев Е. А., 2019. "На Пути К Новой Модели Аспирантуры: Опыт Совершенствования Аспирантских Программ В Российских Вузах," Вопросы образования // Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 3, pages 8-42.
    6. Tim Maloney & Kamakshi Singh, 2017. "Using Validated Measures of High School Academic Achievement to Predict University Success," Working Papers 2017-10, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    7. Ambika Mathur & Annmarie Cano & Michael Kohl & Nisansala S Muthunayake & Prassanna Vaidyanathan & Mary E Wood & Mustafa Ziyad, 2018. "Visualization of gender, race, citizenship and academic performance in association with career outcomes of 15-year biomedical doctoral alumni at a public research university," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Tal Baron & Robert I Grossman & Steven B Abramson & Martin V Pusic & Rafael Rivera & Marc M Triola & Itai Yanai, 2020. "Signatures of medical student applicants and academic success," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    9. Vincent Chandler, 2019. "Identifying emerging scholars: seeing through the crystal ball of scholarship selection committees," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(1), pages 39-56, July.
    10. Dawayne Whittington & Latricia E. Wallace & Cherilynn R. Shadding, 2017. "Proxies for Success: How the Application Process Correlates to PhD Pursuit for a Small Diversity Research Program," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, August.

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