Sunday, March 25, 2007

Glad I Studied!

A chicken-and-egg question:
Does one's GRE score lead to success or failure in life, or does one's life lead to success or failure on the test?

According to researchers at the U of M, an extensive study has shown that entrance exams are, in fact, the best predictor of future success - even better than prior student success.

Check it out on the U of MN website

According to the study, test scores are actually a better predictor of grad-school success than any other measure, including undergraduate performance. This is apparently true from law school to med school to PhD programs like mine. The U article doesn't speculate as to WHY this is true (and the full Science magazine article is only available online to subscribers) but I think it's interesting to ponder...

My GRE score was a mixed bag - very high verbal & writing, stinky math. (Ironically, just like my daughter's SAT!) So what does that tell you? I'll do well in life when I need to talk, but not when I need to calculate? Hmm...

I do suspect that there is something about being a good problem solver on tests that relates to being a good problem solver in life - and which would then lead to success in general. Beyond that...?

Other ideas?

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