REFERENCE : WIKIPEDIA
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The test was established in 1936 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
According to ETS, the GRE aims to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills that have been acquired over a long period of learning. The content of the GRE consists of certain specific algebra, geometry, arithmetic, and vocabulary sections.
The GRE General Test is offered as a computer-based exam administered at testing centres and institution owned or authorized by Prometric.
In the graduate school admissions process, the level of emphasis that is placed upon GRE scores varies widely between schools and departments within schools. The importance of a GRE score can range from being a mere admission formality to an important selection factor.
The GRE was significantly overhauled in August 2011, resulting in an exam that is not adaptive on a question-by-question basis, but rather by section, so that the performance on the first verbal and math sections determines the difficulty of the second sections presented. Overall, the test retained the sections and many of the question types from its predecessor, but the scoring scale was changed to a 130 to 170 scale (from a 200 to 800 scale)
The cost to take the test is US$205, although ETS will reduce the fee under certain circumstances. It also provides financial aid to those GRE applicants who prove economic hardship. ETS does not release scores that are older than five years, although graduate program policies on the acceptance of scores older than five years will vary.
The computer-based GRE General Test consists of six sections. The first section is always the analytical writing section involving separately timed issue and argument tasks.
The next five sections consist of two verbal reasoning sections, two quantitative reasoning sections, and either an experimental or research section.
These five sections may occur in any order. The experimental section does not count towards the final score but is not distinguished from the scored sections. Unlike the computer adaptive test before August 2011, the GRE General Test is a multistage test, where the examinee’s performance on earlier sections determines the difficulty of subsequent sections. This format allows the examined person to freely move back and forth between questions within each section, and the testing software allows the user to “mark” questions within each section for later review if time remains. The entire testing procedure lasts about 3 hours 45 minutes. One-minute breaks are offered after each section and a 10-minute break after the third section.
The paper-based GRE General Test also consists of six sections. The analytical writing is split up into two sections, one section for each issue and argument task. The next four sections consist of two verbal and two quantitative sections in varying order. There is no experimental section on the paper-based test.
The computer-based verbal sections assess reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and vocabulary usage. The verbal test is scored on a scale of 130–170, in 1-point increments. (Before August 2011, the scale was 200–800, in 10-point increments.) In a typical examination, each verbal section consists of 20 questions to be completed in 30 minutes, Each verbal section consists of about 6 text completion, 4 sentence equivalence, and 10 critical reading questions. The changes in 2011 include a reduced emphasis on rote vocabulary knowledge and the elimination of antonyms and analogies. Text completion items have replaced sentence completions and new reading question types allowing for the selection of multiple answers were added.
The computer-based quantitative sections assess basic high school level mathematical knowledge and reasoning skills. The quantitative test is scored on a scale of 130–170, in 1-point increments (Before August 2011 the scale was 200–800, in 10-point increments). In a typical examination, each quantitative section consists of 20 questions to be completed in 35 minutes.Each quantitative section consists of about 8 quantitative comparisons, 9 problem solving items, and 3 data interpretation questions. The changes in 2011 include the addition of numeric entry items requiring the examinee to fill in the blank and multiple-choice items requiring
The analytical writing section consists of two different essays, an “issue task” and an “argument task”. The writing section is graded on a scale of 0–6, in half-point increments. The essays are written on a computer using a word processing program specifically designed by ETS. The program allows only basic computer functions and does not contain a spell-checker or other advanced features. Each essay is scored by at least two readers on a six-point holist scale. If the two scores are within one point, the average of the scores is taken. If the two scores differ by more than a point, a third reader examines the response.
Issue Task
The test taker is given 30 minutes to write an essay about a selected topic. Issue topics are selected from a pool of questions, which the GRE Program has published in its entirety. Individuals preparing for the GRE may access the pool of tasks on the ETS website.
Argument Task
The test taker will be given an argument (i.e. a series of facts and considerations leading to a conclusion) and asked to write an essay that critiques the argument. Test takers are asked to consider the argument’s logic and to make suggestions about how to improve the logic of the argument. Test takers are expected to address the logical flaws of the argument and not provide a personal opinion on the subject. The time allotted for this essay is 30 minutes. The Arguments are selected from a pool of topics, which the GRE Program has published in its entirety. Individuals preparing for the GRE may access the pool of tasks on the ETS website
The experimental section, which can be either verbal or quantitative, contains new questions ETS is considering for future use. Although the experimental section does not count towards the test-taker’s score, it is unidentified and appears identical to the scored sections. Because test takers have no definite way of knowing which section is experimental, it is typically advised that test takers try their best and be focused on every section. Sometimes an identified research section at the end of the test is given instead of the experimental section.There is no experimental section on the paper-based GRE
An examinee can miss one or more questions on a multiple-choice section and still receive a perfect score of 170. Likewise, even if no question is answered correctly, 130 is the lowest possible score.
Scaled score percentiles
The percentiles for the current General test and the concordance with the prior format[ are as follows. According to interpretive data published by ETS, from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018 about 2 million people have taken the test. Based on performance of individuals the mean and standard deviation of verbal section were 150.24 and 8.44. Whereas, mean and standard deviation for quantitative section were 153.07 and 9.24. Analytical writing has a mean of 3.55 with a standard deviation of 0.86.[34]
Scaled score | Verbal reasoning percentile | Verbal prior scale | Quantitative reasoning percentile | Quantitative prior scale |
170 | 99 | 760–800 | 96 | 800 |
169 | 99 | 740–750 | 94 | 800 |
168 | 98 | 720–730 | 92 | 800 |
167 | 98 | 710 | 89 | 800 |
166 | 97 | 700 | 87 | 800 |
165 | 96 | 680–690 | 85 | 790 |
164 | 94 | 660–670 | 83 | 790 |
163 | 92 | 650 | 80 | 780 |
162 | 90 | 630–640 | 78 | 770 |
161 | 88 | 620 | 75 | 770 |
160 | 85 | 600–610 | 72 | 760 |
159 | 82 | 590 | 69 | 750 |
158 | 79 | 570–580 | 65 | 740 |
157 | 75 | 560 | 62 | 730 |
156 | 72 | 540–550 | 59 | 720 |
155 | 67 | 530 | 55 | 700–710 |
In addition to the General Test, there are also four GRE Subject Tests testing knowledge in the specific areas of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. The length of each exam is 170 minutes.
In the past, subject tests were also offered in the areas of Computer Science, Economics, Revised Education, Engineering, Geology, History, Music, Political Science, Sociology, and Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology. In April 1998, the Revised Education and Political Science exams were discontinued. In April 2000, the History and Sociology exams were discontinued; with Economics, Engineering, Music, and Geology being discontinued in April 2001.[36] The Computer Science exam was discontinued after April 2013, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology was discontinued in December 2016. The GRE Biology Test and GRE Literature in English Test tests were discontinued in April 2021.
