Comment on Problems in Education

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:03:56 GMT

I notice that I'm confused: the maximum score on the Quantitative section is 800 (at that time), and Ph.D. econ programs won't even consider you if you're under a 780. The quantitative exam is actually really easy for math types. When you sign up for the GRE, you get a free CD with 2 practice exams. When I took it, I took the first practice exam without studying at all and got a 760 or so on the quantitiative section (within 10 pts). After studying I got a 800 on the second practice exam and on the actual exam, I got a 790. The questions were basic algebra for the most part with a bit of calculus and basic stat at the top end and a tricky question here and there. The exam was easy - really easy. I was a math major at a tiny / terrible liberal arts school; nothing like MIT or any self respecting state school. So it seems like it should be easy for anyone with a halfway decent mathematics background.

Now you're telling me people intending to major in econ in grad school average a 706, and people intending to major in math average a 733? That's low. Really low relative to my expectations. I would have expected a 730 in econ and maybe a 760 in math.

Possible explanations:

1) Tons of applicants who don't want to believe that they aren't cut out for their field create a long tail on the low side while the high side is capped at 800.

2) Master's programs are, in general, more lenient and there are a large number of people who only intend to go to them, creating the same sort of long tail effect as above in 1).

3) There's way more low-tier graduate programs than I thought in both fields willing to accept the average or even below average student.

4) Weirdness in how these fields are classified (e.g. I don't see statistics there anywhere, is that included in math?)

5) the quantitative section of the standard GRE actually doesn't matter if you're headed to a math or physics program (someone in that field care to comment?). Note: the quantitative section of the standard GRE does matter in econ, but typically only as a way to make the first cut (usually at 760 or 780, depending on the school). I don't know much of the details here though.

6) very few people actually study for the GRE like I did - i.e. buy a prep book and work through it. This depresses their scores even though they're much better quantitatively than I am.

Unsurprisingly since these are in when-I-though-of-them order, 1)-3) appeal to me the most, but 5) and 6) also seem plausible. I don't see why 4) would bias the scores down instead of up so it seems unlikely a priori.

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