The Graduate Record Examination and the Stereotype Threat: The Emotional Effects of Standardized Tests
This research initiative examines the emotional reaction of graduate students toward low Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Specifically, it focuses on students who fit the concept of stereotype threat. According to Claude Steele, when minority students take intellectual ability tests, they face the threat they will be judged by or confirm a negative societal stereotype about their group-a condition labeled stereotype threat. The presence of this threat impedes their performance on the test. To collect evidence the researcher surveyed and interviewed students participating in the Summer Pre-doctoral Institute (SPI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From this survey students who fit the criterion for the research project were selected for an interview. The criterion for the research project included students who received a combined GRE verbal and quantitative score of approximately 1000 or below. As well as students that exhibited an emotional reaction to having received low GRE scores. The assessment of emotional reactions was based on the students’ responses to items on the survey questionnaire. The researcher seeks to understand how students react to the emotional impact of underachievement on the GRE and the ways in which they overcome a sense of defeat to pursue and even successfully complete graduate programs. According to the results, recognition of the function of standardized test in the admissions process has emotional effects on not only students that receive low scores but also on high performing students; students combat this threats to their intelligence through various forms of resilience