THE RELATIONSHIP OF GRE GENERAL TEST SCORES TO FIRST‐YEAR GRADES FOR FOREIGN GRADUATE STUDENTS: REPORT OF A COOPERATIVE STUDY
Authors: Wilson Kenneth M. 
Published: September 2014

The present study was designed as a GRE population validity study for foreign students enrolled in U.S. graduate schools. Primary interest was in validity for students for whom English is a second language (foreign ESL students). The objectives of the study were to obtain information regarding the typical within‐department relationship of scores on the GRE General Test to first‐year average grades (FYA) (a) in samples of foreign ESL students that are heterogeneous with respect to linguistic‐cultural‐educational background, (b) in subgroups that are homogeneous with respect to country of origin and associated background variables, and (c) in subgroups classified according to relative level of English proficiency, as measured by scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), GRE verbal and analytical performance relative to quantitative performance, and self‐reported English language communication status.

The study was based on data for a total of 1,353 foreign ESL students and 42 foreign ENL (English‐native‐language) students from 97 graduate departments in 23 graduate schools. Eighty‐six departments were primarily quantitative–either engineering, math/science, or economics; six were bioscience departments; and five were primarily verbal–four education and one political science. More than 90 different countries were represented in the sample. The majority of students were from Asia. The three largest national contingents (students from India, Taiwan, and Korea) accounted for about one half of all students. Students were highly selected both in terms of quantitative ability and in terms of English proficiency as measured by TOEFL.

The department‐level samples were small (median N = 12). In order to obtain reliable estimates of within‐department GRE/FYA relationships, data for similar departments were pooled. GRE and FYA variables were z‐scaled by department before pooling–that is, scores were expressed as deviations from deparment‐level means in department standard deviation units. Primary emphasis was given to analyses based on pooled data for the primarily quantitative departments, because representation of departments from the other fields was limited.

Average levels and patterns of GRE/FYA correlations based on pooled data for foreign ESL students from the 86 quantitative departments and the five “verbal” departments were found to be comparable to levels and patterns of coefficients that have been reported by the GRE Validity Study Service (VSS) for a sample composed primarily of U.S. citizens; results for the small sample of bioscience departments were anomalous, due probably to sampling effects. In quantitative fields, quantitative and analytical scores were the strongest predictors; in the verbal fields, verbal scores were strongest. GRE verbal and TOEFL total scores had parallel patterns of validity.

Study findings suggested that inferences based on GRE scores regarding the subsequent academic performance of applicants, especially those applying for admission to primarily quantitative departments, are likely to be as valid for foreign ESL applicants as for U.S. applicants. Questions regarding the comparative academic performance of U.S. and foreign students with comparable GRE scores, not addressed directly in this study, call for further research.