ARP Presentation Regarding GRE Concerns

8/14/2019 ARP Presentation Regarding GRE Concerns

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Action Research Project

Proposal

March 30, 2008

C. Barnes Gallagher

Overcoming Obstacles such as Idiomatic Barriers in

Respect to the GRE, a Standardized Test

OutsidePresentation


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Introduction Overview of GRE Challenge

Problem Description Problem Documentation

Setting: Population/group

selected for the study


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Introduction (continued)

Solution Strategy, Results

Recommendations for change Recommendations for future

researchers Solicitation of audience feedback


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Overview of GRE Challenge

OvercomingSocioeconomic

dilemmas

Focusing onProfessional

Workforces

Adapting,Advancing

Technology

Respondingto

idiomatic,

rationalconcerns

Prosperous Academic Goals, Achievements,Economy

Responsive Non-Profit Educational

Testing Service (ETS)

Viable, Communicative University System


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Overview

1. Problem Description

Many graduating and Graduate

University students avoid standardized

tests such as the GRE because they

fear poor scores that they known may

reflect controversial diverse dialects

and biases which fluctuate according tocultural and geographical areas.


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The problem is illustrated through verbalskills that have decreased by at least 50 pointsin 30 years, as well as a mere 2% of potential

examinees actually taking the exam.

Value for the GRE is solely linked to

acquired scores rather than essential skills that

the exam progressively instills and promotes(Bridgeman, Cline, & Hessinger, 2003, p. i).


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Objective Students will learn to value the exam as

a learning tool, and to correspond withETS regarding their concerns.

Results The intervention strategy will increase

verbal scores to 500-550, at least 50points greater than that which is themedian score, and an increased numberof examinees (500,000-1,000,000).


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2. Problem documentation By the year 2007, 15.34 million undergraduate University

seniors and 2.2 million graduate students had theopportunity to contribute to educational standards andstrengthen their academic skills by taking the Graduate

Record Exam which is offered by the New Jersey-basedEducational Testing Services (ETS) (Bridgeman, Cline, &Hessinger, 2003, p. i)

According to the Ethics Resource Center, approximately300,000 take the GRE each year (Pendell-Jones, 2003,

para. 1); this means that only ~ 2.31% of all undergraduateand graduate students actually take the exam each year.


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Key Assumptions

Students and teachers are aware of dialectic,idiomatic, demographic variations, and biases inherent

in an evolving language and increasing dependency on

tools provided by a technological revolution.

Most international students do not receive good

scores on the verbal section (Mupinga & Mupinga,

2005, p. 402).

Assessors of the exam express awareness of the

exams performance biases.


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Computerized testing has become the norm.

Key Assumptions(continued)

Of the 300,000 students who take the GRE each year,

41,000 are from China (Pendell-Jones, 2003, para. 1),and ~90% of Chinese test-takers did not feel that

purchasing the answer notes from other students could

constitute cheating (Pendell-Jones, 2003, para. 3).

75% of all students admit to cheating; 14% declare

that cheating is fair (Pendell-Jones, 2003, para. 11).


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Setting: population/groupselected for the study

According to the The National Data Book of The

2008 Statistical Abstract, U.S. Census Bureau, the

projection for 2008 is 13,677,000 public University

school students and 4,587,000 private college school

students (about 18 million altogether):

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s020

.

Our control group (3000 students) and action group

(3000 students) are composed of volunteer pupils who

are college students.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0207.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0207.pdf


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Solution strategy or strategies

Attention must be directed to culturalpluralism and current dialectic, culturalissues of White and Asian-Americanfamilies, and Black and Hispanic families

who, despite their very low incomes, haveaddressed their concerns to agenciesprovided by ETS. The solution strategyincludes attention that must also bedirected to developing students who

represent 40 % of the children fromAlaska, New Mexico, Louisiana, andMississippi who live in impoverishedconditions (Barton, Coley, & EducationalTesting Service, 2007, p. 3).


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Verbal Scores: Action and Control Groups, Pre- and Post-Tests

Pre-Tests (3000 Examinees) Post-Tests (3000 Examinees)

800

700-799

600-699

500-599

400-499

300-399

200-299

Scores

Control Group Action Group

% # % #

1 30 3 90

1 30 3 90

19 570 40 1200

41 1230 42 1260

19 570 10 300

15 450 1 30

4 120 1 30

Control Group Action Group

% # % #

0 0 1 30

1 30 1 30

18 540 19 570

40 1200 33 990

20 600 22 660

16 480 18 540

5 150 6 180


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Initial Problem Analysis


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Final Analysis

Score Improvement


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Key Findings / Results 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pretest I Pretest II Posttest I Posttest II

Action

Control


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Control Control Action Action


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Condition Description

Action

Group

Control

Group

1 Corresponding with ETS True True

2 Daily Review of

Vocabulary, Etymology,

Quantitative Reasoning,

Analytical Writing

True False

3 Expressed Value through

Survey Results for the

GRE, a standardized

exam, as a learning tool.

True False


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Recommendations for change

The change is compelled by ETS associateswho project understanding for cultural

pluralism and a universally comprehensible

idiom and jargon as per the exams goals thatmust be extended to international studentswho otherwise may need to take the TOEFLfirst and be unable to achieve good scores onthe exams verbal section (Mupinga &Mupinga, 2005, p. 402).

The change includes the provision of studyguides that are offered free through the ETSonline site.


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Recommendations for future

researchers Recommendations include greater provision of the

new Internet-Based Testing (IBT) platform that isalso used for the Test of English as a Foreign

Language (TOEFL), as an improved learningintervention.

Recommendations include fair access by all potentialexaminees to the effective intervention that includes

the beta test offered through the IBT platform whichenables examinees to foresee topics that the finalcertified exam will cover.

Recommendations must refer to the security problemsarising due to repeated use of the same examination

problems and that which constitutes cheating.


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Questions

&

Discussion


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References

Barton, P. E., Coley, R. J., & Educational Testing Service (2007,

September). The family: America's smallest school [Policy

information report]. Retrieved February 28, 2008, from

http://www.ets.org/research/pic

Bridgeman, B., Cline, F., & Hessinger, J. (2003, May). GRE

research: Effect of extra time on GRE quantitative and verbalscores. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from http://www.ets.org/gre

Mupinga, E. E., & Mupinga, D. M. (2005, June). Perceptions of

international students toward Graduate Record Examination.

College Student Journal, 39, p. 402. Retrieved August 13, 2007,

from http://journals825.home.mindspring.com/csj/html

Pendell-Jones, A. (2003). Retrieved August 14, 2007, from

http://www.ethics.org/erc-publications/staff-articles.asp?aid=765
http://www.ets.org/grehttp://www.ethics.org/erc-publications/staff-articles.asp?aid=765http://www.ets.org/gre

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ARP Presentation Regarding GRE Concerns