Writing Assessment Introducing a powerful new way to enhance admissions decision making mportant news for the graduate community! • • Gives admissions committees important evidence of competencies deemed essential for graduate school success Serves as a reliable index of candidates’ ability to articulate their own ideas about complex issues and arguments rather than choose answers from a multiple-choice format Provides a common yardstick for assessing graduate-level writing skills — an effective way to compare the qualifications of applicants from diverse educational programs Contributes meaningful information that can help differentiate among candidates who present otherwise similar credentials • • • • articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively examine claims and accompanying evidence support ideas with relevant reasons and examples sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion control the elements of standard written English A reliable indicator of candidate proficiency in critical thinking and analytical writing Graduate schools are now able to receive valuable information that can be factored into admissions decisions: applicants’ scores on the GRE Writing Assessment. Since October 1999, examinees have had the opportunity to demonstrate, in a controlled testing situation, the kinds of high-level thinking and writing skills generally recognized as essential for success in many graduate programs. The GRE Writing Assessment substantially expands the range of skills assessed by the GRE General Test and Subject Tests, including the applicant’s ability to The GRE Writing Assessment is offered as a separate test, independent of the GRE General and Subject Tests. It is available year-round at all ETS-authorized computer-based testing (CBT) centers worldwide. Graduate Record Examinations ® • • To learn more, visit the GRE Web site at www.gre.org/writing.html • ா ா A & Q Writing Assessment her writing samples and personal statement, or it may reveal strengths not displayed in these other materials. By requiring the GRE Writing Assessment, you will be better able to identify those applicants best prepared to meet the writing demands of your program without requiring extra instructional support. In what other ways can our graduate department use the information provided by these test scores? The scores can be used to identify students who might need special help in developing the analytical writing skills they need to succeed in your program. In addition, the assessment can be used in conjunction with the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ® ) — which includes a writing section — or the Test of Written English (TWE ® ) to provide a more complete picture of an international student’s writing abilities, including higher-level thinking and analytical writing skills. Adding the GRE Writing Assessment to your admissions requirements emphasizes that critical thinking and analytical writing are important in your graduate program and in professional life. What can you tell us about the validity of this assessment? In creating this new assessment for the GRE Board, Educational Testing Service (ETS ® ) followed a rigorous test development process that was guided by faculty committees representing different academic institutions, disciplines, and cultural perspectives. A national advisory committee explored and field tested many different kinds of writing tasks to identify those that provided the best evidence of skills that contribute to successful graduate work. Academic and technical advisers reviewed writing research and several years’ worth of field-test data from studies Why did the GRE Board introduce this new assessment? The GRE Board has been concerned about deficiencies in the writing skills of graduate students. It believes that an assessment of critical thinking and analytical writing will be useful in the admissions process because it will help determine an applicant’s ability to do graduate-level writing. What is the assessment like? The assessment consists of two analytical writing tasks: a 45-minute “Present Your Perspective on an Issue” task and a 30-minute “Analyze an Argument” task. The “Issue” task states an opinion on an issue of general interest and asks test takers to address the issue from any perspective(s) they wish, so long as they provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support their views. The “Argument” task presents a different challenge: it requires test takers to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned they find it. Test takers are asked to consider the logical soundness of the argument rather than to agree or disagree with the position it presents. The two tasks are complementary in that one requires test takers to construct their own arguments by making claims and providing evidence supporting their positions on the issue, whereas the other requires them to critique someone else’s argument by assessing its claims and evaluating the evidence it provides. Sample topics for both tasks are presented in the shaded area on the next page. How does the information provided by this assessment help us make admissions decisions? The assessment gives an admissions committee a reliable indicator of an applicant’s competencies in a range of higher-level thinking and writing skills associated with graduate studies. This indicator can support your impression of the student’s abilities as evidenced in his or ா Sample Screen Directions and Sample Topics Sample Argument Task: Analysis of an Argument Directions: Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. Sample Topic: Six months ago the region of Forestville increased the speed limit for vehicles traveling on the region’s highways by ten miles per hour. Since that change took effect, the number of automobile accidents in that region has increased by 15 percent. But the speed limit in Elmsford, a region neighboring Forestville, remained unchanged, and automobile accidents declined slightly during the same six-month period. Therefore, if the citizens of Forestville want to reduce the number of automobile accidents on the region’s highways, they should campaign to reduce Forestville’s speed limit to what it was before the increase. Sample Issue Task: Present Your Perspective on an Issue Directions: Present your perspective on the issue below, using relevant reasons and/or examples to support your views. Sample Topic: “In our time, specialists of all kinds are highly overrated. We need more generalists — people who can provide broad perspectives.” conducted in preparation for this assessment. (Visit the GRE Web site at www.gre.org/writing.html or send an e-mail inquiry to gre-writing@ets.org for additional information about GRE Writing Assessment research.) All writing topics have passed stringent reviews for fairness and, in national field-test trials, proved accessible and appropriate for entry-level graduate students across many disciplines and various cultural groups. Reader training and scoring procedures were designed to ensure scoring accuracy, fairness, and reliability, and to enhance the overall validity of the assessment. How should we evaluate whether to require or recommend Writing Assessment scores? The GRE Program has released information that helps score users evaluate the appropriate use of the Writing Assessment score. You can obtain this information on the GRE Web site at www.gre.org/writing.html or send e-mail inquiries to gre-writing@ets.org. How is the assessment different from the verbal section on the GRE General Test? The GRE Writing Assessment is performance based; candidates must organize and articulate their own ideas as they discuss a complex issue and explain the logical soundness of an argument they have just read. Should our department require a TOEFL writing test and/ or the GRE Writing Assessment? The TOEFL and GRE writing measures are quite different, by design. The TOEFL test writing prompts and scoring criteria emphasize rhetorical and syntactic competence, whereas the GRE Writing Assessment emphasizes critical thinking and analytical writing. And, although both the TOEFL and GRE programs report essay scores on a 6-point scale, the scores are not at all comparable. Each institution or department must make its own decisions about requiring a TOEFL test and/or the GRE Writing Assessment. To help you determine which test may be applicable to your department, you may find it helpful to review the sample prompts and scoring guides for each test and note the differences in the criteria indicated for each scoring level. How is the test administered? The GRE Writing Assessment is delivered on computer at ETS-authorized computer-based test centers. The option to handwrite the essays is not available at CBT centers. Test takers who choose to handwrite essays must take the test on a paper-based test date published in the GRE Information and Registration Bulletin. A word-processing tutorial specific to this assessment is included in test preparation materials and also precedes the actual timed test. For the Issue task, the test taker chooses one of two essay topics randomly selected by Are test preparation materials available? Yes. GRE publications explain the goals, content, format, and other characteristics of the Writing Assessment. Materials include the complete set of directions for both tasks; the entire pool of topics, which test takers can review prior to the test; Issue and Argument scoring criteria; samples of scored essays with readers’ commentaries; and the word-processing tutorial specific to the assessment. The complete list of topics for both tasks is also available on the GRE Web site at www.gre.org/ writing.html. GRE POWERPREP ® Software Version 2.0, sent free of charge to Writing Assessment registrants, includes test preparation for both the GRE General Test and the Writing Assessment. POWERPREP provides candidates with advice on how to write effective essays for the Issue and Argument tasks. It lets users practice writing essays under simulated GRE testing conditions, with the same GRE word processing and testing tools that appear on the test. The free POWERPREP can also be downloaded from the GRE Web site at www.gre.org/codelst.html. When can an applicant take the test? The test is given year-round at all ETS-authorized computer-based testing centers worldwide. It is a separate test, offered independently of the GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests. What is the test fee? The test fee is $50 for individuals testing in the United States, U.S. Territories, and Puerto Rico, and $60 for individuals testing in all other locations. The issue of cost has been seriously considered by the GRE Board and the various committees and advisers who helped in the development of the test. Guiding their decisions were issues of fairness, reliability, and validity — all of which are affected by the types and number of writing tasks, the amount of time students have to perform those tasks, and the quality of the scoring process. The test fee was established based on a careful analysis of the operating expenses of developing, administering, and scoring the new assessment. computer from the Issue list. The Argument task does not present a choice of topics; instead, the test taker is presented with a single topic randomly selected by computer from the Argument list. More than 100 topics have been developed for each writing task, and both topic lists are widely published. How are the essays scored? Each essay is scored on a 6-point holistic scale according to the criteria published in GRE scoring guides. In holistic scoring, readers are trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task and the writing situation. Essay scoring is performed by college and university faculty experienced in teaching writing or writing-intensive courses. All GRE readers have undergone careful training, passed stringent GRE qualifying tests, and demonstrated that they are able to maintain a high degree of scoring accuracy. Scoring and monitoring procedures were designed for fairness and objectivity: all essays are scored by two readers; essays are randomly distributed to the readers; all identifying information about the test takers is concealed from the readers; and readers do not know what other scores an essay may have received. The scoring procedure requires identical or adjacent scores from two readers; any other score combination will be adjudicated by a third GRE reader. How are scores reported? A single analytical writing score is reported on the same 6-point scale. This score represents the average of the scores for the two essays. Because of the scoring process, test takers do not receive their scores at the test center. Scores are sent to institutions and test takers within 10 to 15 days. Institutions are provided with brief descriptions of the writing abilities evidenced at particular score levels. Copyright © 2001 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. The terms and conditions contained in this publication are subject to change. EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, ETS, the ETS logos, GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATIONS, GRE, POWERPREP, TOEFL, and TWE, are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service. For additional information: www.gre.org/writing.html E-mail: gre-writing@ets.org ® 54053-16226 • RR70M35 • Printed in the U.S.A. I.N. 991770 . assessment. (Visit the GRE Web site at www .gre. org /writing. html or send an e-mail inquiry to gre- writing@ ets.org for additional information about GRE Writing. of the Writing Assessment score. You can obtain this information on the GRE Web site at www .gre. org /writing. html or send e-mail inquiries to gre- writing@ ets.org. How