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An Evaluation of the Validity and Fairness of the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) Used for MBA Selection in a UK Business School
Author(s) -
Dobson Paul,
KrapljanBarr Pavica,
Vielba Carol
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2389.00119
Subject(s) - psychology , entrance exam , context (archaeology) , test (biology) , predictive validity , sample (material) , selection (genetic algorithm) , medical education , mathematics education , clinical psychology , computer science , medicine , paleontology , chemistry , chromatography , biology , artificial intelligence
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has been shown to be a valid predictor of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) performance in the USA, but no UK validity studies have been published. This study uses a large sample of UK MBA students to examine the validity and fairness of GMAT. It is found that GMAT‐Verbal is a good predictor of MBA examination performance but GMAT‐Quantitative is not. It is also found that both components are unfair to native English speakers. The reasons for these findings are to be found in the nature of the criterion employed. Some observations are made regarding the consequences for best practice of the competitive and political context of MBA selection.