GRE 101

Class Location: Internet.

Description:  The GRE exam will be discussed in detail.

Prerequisites:  Willingness to learn.

Required Text:  None.

Objective: Get a high score on the GRE.

A revised version of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) was rolled out in the fall of 2007. The revision aimed to improve a number of aspects of the GRE including increasing its validity; providing admissions offices with improved information on applicants’ performances; increasing the security of the test; making it more available around the world; and incorporating advances in technology and psychometric design.

While the test will keep the same types of sections—verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing—the revision will include changes to each of the individual test sections. The idea is for the GRE to better test the skills graduate school students will need for their graduate studies. The revision will also make the GRE a linear test, meaning that everyone taking the test at the same time will have to answer the same questions. The previous GRE was an adaptive test, where the questions varied according to the test-taker’s performance.

The verbal reasoning section will expand from one 30-minute section to two 40-minute sections. It will place less emphasis on vocabulary and more on cognitive skills. It will include more text-based questions, including a broader range of reading passages. It will require more computer-enabled tasks, such as clicking on a sentence to highlight it. It will also stress skills necessary for graduate work, such as complex reasoning.

The quantitative reasoning section will also place more emphasis on skills related to graduate work. It will expand from one 45-minute section to two 40-minute sections. It will include the same math content but fewer geometry questions. It will have more questions on real-life scenarios and data interpretation. It will include more computer-enabled tasks, such as entering a numeric answer instead of selecting one from a list. It will also take advantage of better technology, with new tools such as an on-screen calculator.

In the analytical writing section, the content will stay the same, and the issue and argument tasks will each run 30 minutes. This section will include more focused prompts to reduce the need for memorized knowledge. In addition, designated score recipients will now have access to the actual essays, not just the final scores.

The score scale for the analytical writing section will stay the same. However, the verbal and quantitative sections will have new score scales, which will likely range between 110 and 150 in one-point increments. In early 2008, score recipients will also have access to a comparison table allowing them to compare the old and new score scales.

The revision also aims to increase the availability of the test around the world. While registrants must take the GRE General Test on pre-determined administration dates, an expanded internet-based testing network will be accessible worldwide.

Those students preparing for the revised GRE should be sure to familiarize themselves with the new test structure and types of questions. Everyone who registers for the test will have access to free GRE test-prep materials from the GRE Program. The GRE website now includes sample questions for the revised test, and a free full-length revised test will be available in the spring of 2007.