Lab member Mercedes Ross will present research investigating the predictive validity of the GRE for earning a PhD in Communication at the 2021 AGEP Student Success Conference at Michigan State University. This research is funded by a National Communication Association Advancing the Discipline Grant (PI, Richard Huskey, Co-I, Laramie Taylor).

Presentation Title: The Predictive Validity of GRE Scores for Communication Doctoral Students

Presentation Date: 11/6/2021

Presentation Time: 10:15 AM Eastern Time

Abstract: The General Record Exam (GRE) is a standardized test used to measure a student’s preparedness for graduate school. Educational Testing Service (ETS) identifies a student’s preparedness as the ability to make a significant scholarly contribution and pass all their graduate courses. Ultimately, the GRE is a tool to distinguish who is ready for graduate school and who is not. The strongest evidence to support validity of the prediction capabilities of the GRE is in the students first year of graduate school, validity after that the evidence is unclear. Minority applicants tend to score lower on the exam than white and Asian applicants and this disparity in scores means that minority applicants are systematically disadvantaged in graduate school acceptance. The aim of our study is to determine if the GRE is a useful tool for predicting graduate school success for Communication students. We are in the process of collecting data on undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, graduation rate, race, age and gender from all the institutions listed in the National Communication Association (NCA) Doctoral Program Guide who grant PhDs in Communication within the United States. Once all the data are gathered, we will assess if the GRE scores predict graduate school success in Communication PhD programs. If the GRE scores prove to be valid predictors of success, then graduate schools should continue to use them. If the GRE is not a good predictor, then graduate schools may be more supportive of minorities by adopting more holistic forms of application review

Richard Huskey will keynote an upcoming event hosted by the UC Davis Cognitive Science Program. Huskey’s talk is titled: “What can video games tell us about the brain?” In this talk, he will discuss how his lab uses video games and other naturalistic stimuli to better understand brain function. An abstract for this talk is posted below. Hope to see you there!

Cognitive scientists want to understand how the brain enables the mind and we have made substantial progress toward this goal. However, we are starting to realize that many of the experimental procedures we use are very unnatural. The result is that we have a good understanding of how minds work in the lab, but less clarity about how minds work in the real world. My lab uses video games to overcome this challenge. In this talk, I’ll show how video games can be used to unlock new insights into mental processes such as attention, reward, and cognitive control.