GRE as a Predictor of Graduate Student Success at a Hispanic Serving Institution of Higher Education

Perez, Katherine Diana

doi:10.25148/etd.fi11042602

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, there are systematic differences in the average scores of students of different racial or ethnic groups [12]. Despite this, the GRE remains a frequent gatekeeping criteria (including being used as a "first cut") due to broad beliefs about its ability to account for issues such as grade inflation and differential grading systems at varying undergraduate institutions, thus (apparently) easing the process of comparing graduate applications from a wide pool of applicants [18]. On this issue, Miller has noted how the use of a simple cutoff score may have a significant, negative impact on graduate diversity [12] by eliminating a large proportion of such applicants who fall below a fixed cutoff, despite the previously mentioned warnings from the ETS.…”

Section: B Systematic Effects In Admissions That May Affect Graduatementioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating approaches to diversity in a national survey of physics doctoral degree programs: The graduate admissions landscape

Potvin

Chari

Hodapp

2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Graduate admissions play a critical gatekeeping role in the physics community not only because they select students who are allowed to begin their graduate studies, but also because they influence how students perceive graduate school, and in some cases whether or not they will even choose to apply. In conjunction with the APS Bridge Program, we conducted a national survey of graduate directors (and related faculty) of physics Ph.D. programs in the United States to explore graduate admissions practices. Our focus was on criteria used in determining admissions, mechanisms through which graduate applicants are handled, and how student representation considerations are incorporated into admissions (if at all). We report here on existing graduate admission practices in physics departments and highlight some critical issues for understanding barriers for diversifying graduate physics, including the use of GRE scores (and the relative importance placed on them). We find that the use of a minimum GRE score for admission, a practice in opposition to recommendations made by the tests designers, is reported to be used in many departments (more than one in three). We also find letters of recommendation to be highly valued in admissions decisions. Our data describe various initiatives at the institutional or individual level to increase gender diversity in admissions. A sizable number of departments also express a latent demand for greater numbers of students from traditionally marginalized racial or ethnic groups, but simultaneously report a lack of such applicants.

show abstract

Section: B Systematic Effects In Admissions That May Affect Graduatementioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating approaches to diversity in a national survey of physics doctoral degree programs: The graduate admissions landscape

Potvin

Chari

Hodapp

2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent literature in graduate admission practices has repeatedly flagged concerns about certain admission practices [2][3][4][5][6]. In particular, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores have been reported to be weighted too heavily in doctoral admissions [7], including their use as a minimum cutoff by many programs [8]. GRE scores have been found to discriminate against students from underrepresented groups in physics which limit their opportunities in graduate education [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Admissions practices in terminal master’s degree-granting physics departments: A comparative analysis

Chari

Potvin

2019

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There has been little work done in exploring the variations in admissions practices between different types of physics graduate programs. In this paper, we compared admissions practices in master's programs to a parallel data set collected from doctoral departments to understand the relative importance of particular admission criteria and looked especially at similar sized and "pressured" programs (as measured by the ratio of applications received-to-intended cohort size). We found that master's programs experience notably lower application pressure compared to doctoral programs overall. In the prioritization of admission criteria, undergraduate course-taking and undergraduate math and physics GPA received the shared highest priority, while recommendation letters and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) quantitative scores are the next important criteria but are statistically less important for master's programs in comparison with doctoral programs. In the targeted comparison of similarly sized and pressured master's and doctoral programs, the higher importance of GRE quantitative scores and the lower importance of prior research considerations in master's programs persist. We argue that the relatively lower importance placed on the quantitative GRE and physics subject GRE scores enhances the likelihood of success for undergraduates applying to master's programs, particularly for those who did not take or score well on the quantitative GRE and physics subject GRE test, which have been found to incorporate significant biases against many students but are nonetheless normative in many admissions decisions. The research and graduate level course experiences gained through a master's program may improve postgraduate job opportunities or even continuation on to doctoral research. However, the shared importance of certain factors in admissions between master's and doctoral programs risks propagating a systematic inequity.

show abstract

“…Another study on graduate students at HSIs found that while graduate students' persistence/dedication and time-on-task to their academics were the strongest variables contributing to their success, graduate student involvement, positive interactions with faculty and peers, and the structure and organization of the students' departments and programs were also important factors (Perez, 2011). Generally focusing on the experiences of the graduate students themselves, this literature suggests the importance of involvement, integration, and positive relationships with others.…”

Section: Hispanic-serving Institutions: History and Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A handful of studies have focused solely on graduate students at HSIs (e.g., Craven & Kimmel, 2002;Perez, 2011;Tran, 2011;Vaquera, 2008 This environment included the visibility of Latino/a students and faculty, positive relationships with faculty advisors, and positive academic integration (e.g., participation in academic activities like conferences) and academic satisfaction. Another study on graduate students at HSIs found that while graduate students' persistence/dedication and time-on-task to their academics were the strongest variables contributing to their success, graduate student involvement, positive interactions with faculty and peers, and the structure and organization of the students' departments and programs were also important factors (Perez, 2011).…”

Section: Hispanic-serving Institutions: History and Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Becoming an Hispanic-Serving Research Institution: Involving Graduate Students in Organizational Change

Marín

Pereschica

2018

AMAE Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The changing demographics of higher education have led to an increase in the number and type of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). As research universities continue to see a rise in the enrollment of Latino/a students, a better understanding of the implications of this change within the existing institutional context will be essential to best serve this growing community of students. We position our study within a tradition of organizational culture theory that points to the importance of organizational actors' interpretations, perspectives, and actions in order to understand an organization's general behavior and change. By acknowledging the importance of graduate students within research universities, we focus on their perspectives at an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Research Institution (HSRI) and ask, "What are the organizational culture implications of an HSI designation for a research university?" Our analysis revealed four important themes: communicating institutional pride as an HSRI, engaging the benefits of an HSRI, operationalizing a serving mission, and involving graduate students as institutional actors at HSRIs. Institutional recommendations that follow from our findings include providing clear communication regarding HSI status, objectives, and commitment; assessing the campus climate; and increasing graduate student involvement as key leaders within HSRIs.

show abstract

GRE as a Predictor of Graduate Student Success at a Hispanic Serving Institution of Higher Education

Cited by 4 publications

References 70 publications

Investigating approaches to diversity in a national survey of physics doctoral degree programs: The graduate admissions landscape

Investigating approaches to diversity in a national survey of physics doctoral degree programs: The graduate admissions landscape

Admissions practices in terminal master’s degree-granting physics departments: A comparative analysis

Becoming an Hispanic-Serving Research Institution: Involving Graduate Students in Organizational Change

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About