| Abstract: | Comments on the article by R. J. Sternberg and W. M. Williams (see record 1997-04591-002) regarding the empirical validity of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in predicting graduate student performance in psychology. It is contended that Sternberg and Williams attempted to show that the GRE is not valid for important criteria. As their work indicated, the prediction and measurement of professional-level attainment is an extremely difficult problem, and institutional validity studies are indeed useful. However, studies at the single-school of single-program level are commonly plagued with small sample sizes, severe restrictions of range of talent, and several criterion measurement problems, all of which combine to produce low and erratic validity coefficients. Such is the case with Sternberg and Williams's study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
