Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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yoyostein
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:14 am

Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Post by yoyostein » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:07 am

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/ ... coreselect

Sounds wonderful.

Probably everyone who can afford the money will be retaking it again and again till they get >80%.

Any comments on this new scoreselect option?

Zetetic
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:21 pm

Re: Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Post by Zetetic » Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:57 pm

yoyostein wrote:http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/ ... coreselect

Sounds wonderful.

Probably everyone who can afford the money will be retaking it again and again till they get >80%.

Any comments on this new scoreselect option?
Well, you're kind of limited by the fact that the subject exam is only offered 3 times per year, and some people re-take 3 times anyway, sometimes more. I'm not sure that it's really a huge difference. If I were on an admission committee this might cause me to devalue the test as a legit measure of ability (not that other factors haven't already devalued it). This may be good for those who don't have great scores since it essentially takes information about performance on the test away from admissions people. Conversely, this might hurt those who get a great score the first time, since it would not be possible to distinguish between a once-and-done and a long slog of incremental improvements.

owlpride
Posts: 204
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:01 am

Re: Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Post by owlpride » Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:18 pm

I don't think it should matter if one gets a 90th percentile score on the first or third try. What should matter is that the applicant has mastered basic undergraduate material because that's the only thing the GRE measures. It's an achievement test, not an aptitude test.

jplusip
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:40 pm

Re: Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Post by jplusip » Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:58 pm

owlpride wrote: What should matter is that the applicant has mastered basic undergraduate material because that's the only thing the GRE measures.
Very basic undergraduate material. I've always felt that the Math GRE was more suited for someone coming fresh out of undergraduate courses in "Math for CS Majors" and "Math for Physicists/Engineers" than actual math students.

Want to test whether someone is ready for math grad school? Give 'em a set of axioms and make 'em prove some theorems. Not this bizarre "Basic Calculus Speed Test" BS.

slm
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:55 am

Re: Introducing the New ScoreSelect Option

Post by slm » Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:12 pm

It could also hurt you. It seems possible to me that someone could go like 50%-70%-60%. Now you either have to report 60% to grad school or you report all three. Retaking a test does not guarantee your score to go up and this scoreselect option makes retaking seem misleadingly convenient.



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