Setting the stage: On the continuum of outdated to essential, where should we place qualifying exams and how should we prepare students for them?

Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center 

In this presentation, I frame the biostatistics doctoral qualifying exam (QE) within both the historical context of the discipline's founding and its modern role as a curricular "gatekeeper". I present some mutually agreed upon ideas regarding the purpose of the exam(s) and then explore whether QEs in biostatistics are aligned with that purpose or should be redesigned to be better aligned as well as to support inclusive excellence and student success. I contend that as currently operationalized, these high-stakes assessments often lack clear rubrics and may function as structural barriers to student success. I also demonstrate that students may not always have clear guidance on how best to prepare for this high-stakes milestone I advocate for moving beyond "assimilationist inclusion" toward transparent assessment methods that better measure genuine research readiness.