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                                Graduate Record Examinations

GRE Basics

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE®) is the most widely-accepted standardized test for admission to graduate school in the world. It is accepted by thousands of graduate schools around the world, and is now also accepted by more than 1,000 business schools, including most of the top MBA programs in the US.

The GRE is primarily a computer-based test, although in some regions of the world a paper-based test is the only version available. The latest revisions to the GRE were introduced in August 2011. The revisions included moving from a computer-adaptive test, in which test questions changed based on answers, to a format where test takers can go back to change answers or mark questions and return back to answer them later. The GRE Revised General Test also relies less on testing of vocabulary that the traditional version of the test and more on context-based verbal material. Online calculators are now available for quantitative sections to shift the emphasis away from computation and toward reasoning and interpretation skills.

Worldwide, more than 650,000 people take the GRE annually. The test takes approximately three hours and 45 minutes. It is divided into three sections, the Verbal Reasoning section, the Quantitative Reasoning section, and the Analytical Writing section. The Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections are both scored on a scale of 130 to 170 at one point increments and the Analytical Writing section is scored on a scale of zero to six at half-point increments.

In addition to the GRE Revised General Test, there are also GRE subject tests available in seven subject areas: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biology; Chemistry; Literature in English; Mathematics; Physics; and Psychology. (An eighth subject test in Computer Science was discontinued in April 2013.) Unlike the general test, the subject tests are normally not a requirement for admission, but a way for students to emphasize their knowledge and skills in a particular area. The subject tests are paper-based and administered three times a year.

GRE Test Format

The GRE Test consists of three sections, the Verbal Reasoning section, the Quantitative Reasoning sectionand the Analytical Writing section, however it is divided into six parts. The first part is always the Analytical Writing section. The next five parts consist of two parts of Verbal Reasoning, two parts of Quantitative Reasoning, and one experimental part that can be Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning or Analytical Writing. The experimental part is not counted in the scoring but it can be anywhere in the order of the test sections and is often not identified. Paper-based versions of the test do not include experimental sections.

Overall, the test process takes approximately three hours and 45 minutes. The Analytical Writing sectionincludes two essays, each with a 30-minute time limit. The two parts of the Verbal section each contain approximately 20 questions and each have 30 minute time limits. The two parts of the Quantitative section also each contain approximately 20 questions, but they each have 35 minute time limits. There is a one-minute break between sections and a 10-minute break after section three.

While the GRE Revised General Test is no longer computer adaptive, there still is some variation to allow advanced test-takers to access more difficult questions. The version of the test introduced in 2011 issection-adaptive. This means that test takers who do well on the first part or first section in the Verbal Reasoning category will get a harder set of questions for the second Verbal Reasoning part. The same happens for the two parts of the Quantitative Reasoning section. As a result, scoring will be based both on the number of questions answered correctly and the level of difficulty of the questions. The benefit of section-adaptive testing over testing that was adaptive question-by-question is that test takers can go back and change answers within a section of the test or leave a question blank and go back to answer it later. When the test was adaptive question-by-question, each time a question was answered the answer was irreversible. The section-adaptive testing is not available on paper versions of the test.

Click on the headlines for more detail on each of the GRE Revised General Test sections, but in brief thethree sections are:

• Analytical Writing
  The analytical writing section consists of two essays: an "Analyze an Issue" essay and an "Analyze an Argument" essay. Click on this heading for details on the differences between the two and how they should be approached.
• Quantitative Reasoning
  The Quantitative Reasoning section tests basic math skills as well as the ability to reason quantitatively in connection with numerical data. Skills tested include arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis.
• Verbal Reasoning
  The Verbal Reasoning section tests the ability to analyze and evaluate written material as well as the ability to identify proper sentence construction. The three question types are Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence.                                                                                                                                                          

  Preparing for the GRE Analytical Writing Essays

  The GRE Analytical Writing essay section includes two types of essays: the "Analyze an Issue" essay and the "Analyze an Argument" essay. Essentially the "Issue" essay asks the GRE test taker to form an opinion on an issue and create an argument to support it. The "Argument" essay asks the test taker to critique someone else's argument on an issue and evaluate whether or not it was well-supported.
  The two essays are scored together, resulting in one score, ranging from zero to six at half-point intervals. The essays are scored by a trained reader and a computerized e-rater, with the two scores averaged together. The test interface does not include a spell checker, so applicants should budget their time carefully and be sure to allot time to review work for obvious spelling or grammatical errors.
  Essays are scored holistically. This means that there isn't a specific value awarded for perfect grammar, nor a specific amount deducted for grammar mistakes, but the essays are evaluated as a whole. Educational Testing Service (ETS) lists critical thinking and analytical writing as the two most important factors in theholistic scoring of the essays.
  Practice is the best way to prepare for the GRE test. ETS lists the entire pool of possible essay questions on its Web site, as well as several examples of essays that scored at different levels and explanations of why they received their scores. Some test takers begin practicing for the essay by writing sample essays without a time limit, and then find ways to trim their writing process to fit the 30-minute time limit. Others have preferred timing themselves from the start.

  Analyze an Issue Essay

  The "Analyze an Issue" essay presents an issue that can be discussed from different sides or perspectives. Test takers are then asked to discuss how they agree/disagree or discuss their views on the issue. In some cases they might be asked to discuss opposing views on the issue and why they would choose one view over the other.
  Essays will be scored based on how well the writers argue their case. Essay readers are looking for clear, articulate arguments that are well supported. The essay will be scored both on how well the argument was developed and how effectively it was communicated. Using supporting examples is recommended. ETS cautions test takers to beware of arguments or examples that are too general.

  Analyze an Argument Essay

  In the "Analyze an Argument" essay, test takers are presented with a brief passage that contains an argument. It could be a passage that takes a view on something, or suggests a course of action based on certain information. The writer has to evaluate the assumptions made in the argument to determine whether the conclusions presented are sound.
  Some points to consider when reading the argument are: What does the passage offer as proof? What assumptions does the passage make without any proof? Does the argument draw logical conclusions from one fact to the next or make leaps of faith that aren't supported?
  It is important to read the passage and instructions carefully. The instructions for this essay tend to be very specific about how the argument should be analyzed. An example is: Discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and how that evidence would strengthen or weaken the argument.
  ETS says that because this is a critical thinking task, analytical skills tend to be weighted most heavily in the scoring, however clarity of writing is also important.                             

  Preparing for the GRE Quantitative Reasoning Section

  The mathematical skills tested in the Quantitative Reasoning section include high school level arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis. ETS lists all the math concepts covered in these areas and anyone who does not work with math regularly should review the concepts covered and practice applying them. However, what might be more important for many GRE test takers is understanding the types of questions presented in this section.
  There are four types of questions, and it is important to avoid being tricked by misunderstanding the phrasing of the question of what type of answer is expected. In some cases there might be one set of data followed by a group of questions. The questions that follow the data might each be a different question type, so reading questions carefully is essential.
  Online calculators are available for use in this section. For those taking paper-based versions of the test, handheld calculators will be distributed by the test center. The Quantitative Reasoning section is divided intotwo 35-minute subsections of approximately 20 questions each. This part of the test is section adaptive, meaning that those who score well on the first part of the Quantitative Reasoning section will get harder questions for the second part.                                                                         

  GRE Verbal Reasoning Basics

  The GRE Verbal Reasoning section is perhaps the section that has undergone the greatest stylistic shift over the past decade. Where it used to have vocabulary analogy questions, similar to the SAT, its vocabulary assessment is now much more contextual. Now, not only must test takers understand word meaning, they must be able to identify clues in a sentences, and be able to assess what a sentence or passage is aiming to say even with pivotal words in the passage missing. This is explained in more detail in the description of the individual question types.
  There are three question types in this section: Reading Comprehension questions, Text Completion questions, and Sentence Equivalence questions. While Reading Comprehension is different than the other two question types because it involves much larger passages to read, there is an interrelatedness between all three types of questions in terms of the skills that are tested.
  For example, Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion both involve choosing the correct word, so at face value they appear to test vocabulary skills. Yet both question types test reading comprehension on a micro level, and require reasoning skills to evaluate the underlying meaning of a sentence. Similarly, while Reading Comprehension primarily focuses on assessing the ability to interpret written materials analytically, it also tests vocabulary skills in the context of longer passages.
  • Text Completion
    Text Completion questions give test-takers a sentence missing one, two or three words. Click here for a more in-depth description as well as strategy for solving these questions.
  • Sentence Equivalence
    In Sentence Equivalence questions, test takers must choose two words that would best complete the sentence.
  • Reading Comprehension
    These questions involve passages 400-600 words long followed by three to five questions. The questions may ask about any aspect of the passage from small details to broad themes.

  What is the GRE Experimental Section?

  In the computer version of the GRE test there is an experimental section. This means that an entire section is not being scored, but rather has been placed in the test to evaluate how well GRE test takers perform on it for possible inclusion in future tests.

  The basic structure of the GRE Revised General Test includes one Analytical Writing Section, twoQuantitative Reasoning Sections, and two Verbal Reasoning sections. The experimental section is not identified but if a test has two Analytical Writing Sections, one of them was experimental. Similarly, if the test had three Verbal Reasoning sections, one of those three was experimental. The experimental sectioncould appear anywhere in the test, so it is important to take each section seriously.

  In some cases instead of an experimental section there is an optional research section at the end of the test that is clearly identified as research. In other cases there is both an experimental section and an optional research section. The bottom line is it's not worth it to guess which section might be experimental, and every section should be treated as if it counts.                         

  Understanding the GRE Revised General Test Scoring System

  The GRE Revised General Test has a scoring system that is a big departure from both its previous scoring system and the scoring system of several other standardized tests (eg. GMAT scoring). Instead of Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores that range from 200 to 800 previous, the Verbal and Quantitative scores now range from 130 to 170 in one point increments.

  ETS says that the new scoring system allows it to get better use of the whole scoring range. Previously, for example, a perfect 800 score on the Quantitative section put test takers in the 94th percentile. The new system measures finer increments all they way up the percentile rankings to the top. For the GRE Revised General Test, a 166 out of 170 translates to the 94th percentile. Currently, the mean Verbal Reasoning score is 150.8 and the mean Quantitative Reasoning score is 151.3. The 86th percentile is 161 in the Verbal Reasoning section and a 162 in the Quantitative Reasoning section.

  The Analytical Writing section continues to be scored on a scale of zero to six at half point increments. The mean falls at 3.7. A 6.0 is now the 99th percentile. A 5.5 is the 96th percentile and a 5.0 is the 92nd.

  There is no total combined score for the GRE Revised General Test. Score reports include one score for each of the three sections, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing.

  The ScoreSelect Advantage

  While the revised scoring system makes it harder to ace the GRE test with a perfect score in one of the sections, ETS offers some relief to GRE test takers in the form of its ScoreSelect system. There are three versions of ScoreSelect that test takers may use to send score reports to graduate schools.

  ScoreSelect Recent sends only the most recent test score; ScoreSelect All sends scores of all tests taken within the past five years; and ScoreSelect Any allows test takers to pick and choose one or many scores to send to graduate schools. Only complete test scores may be selected – it is not possible to select a Verbal Reasoning score from one test and a Quantitative Reasoning score from another.

  Only the ScoreSelect Recent and ScoreSelect All options are available for free on test day. For ScoreSelect Any, test takers must pay a fee after the test was taken. Still, this new option negates the need to ever cancel test scores. Someone who is unhappy with a score could choose not to send test scores on the test day and then use ScoreSelect Any to send their best scores at another time.

  How GRE Scores are Calculated

  Both the Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections of the GRE are section adaptive. That means that the first part of these sections is of mid-range difficulty, and those who scored well on the first part received a more difficult second part. To calculate scores, ETS begins with a raw score of how many questions were correct in each section regardless of level of difficulty. It then conducts a process that it calls equating, in which the scores are adjusted to account for variations in difficulty of some of the questions. ETS says that the resulting scaled score gives GRE test takers an accurate measure regardless of which version of the test was taken.

  For the Analytical Writing Section, the essays are scored once by a trained reader and the second time by acomputerized e-rater. The two scores are compared and if they are identical, or close to identical, the human score is used. If they differ by a certain amount, a second trained reader reads the essays and the two human scores are averaged together. The two essays are scored separately and averaged together to compute the final score, which ranges from zero to six at half point intervals. On the paper version of the test, the essay is scored by two trained readers without the use of a computerized e-rater.                                             

  What Happens on GRE Test Day?

  Plan to arrive to the Testing Center 30 minutes early. Bring valid photo ID and be aware that there may be other identification procedures at the center, such as fingerprinting, photographing or some other form of electronic identification. Test takers must comply with these identification procedures in order to sit for the test.

  Friends, relatives or other guests are not allowed inside the testing center. There is a limited waiting area and guests are not allowed to contact test takers during the test. Personal items are not allowed either, and this includes cell phones, electronic devices, calculators, food, snacks, papers and other items. Watches might also be confiscated.

  There is limited storage space, and testing personnel may ask to inspect coats, hats or other items brought to the testing center. There is no access to these items during the test.
  Testing centers might be videotaped and test takers might be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.

  The testing center personnel will assign the seats. Scratch paper will be handed out by the test center personnel. Test takers can not bring their own scratch paper and may not take the scratch paper out of the testing center.

  There is a ten minute break after the third section and a one minute break between other sections. Test takers may not leave the center except to go to the bathroom.

  Viewing or Cancelling Scores on Test Day

  After the test is over test takers may see their unofficial Verbal and Quantitative scores. They may alsosend scores to four graduate schools free of charge using the ScoreSelect feature described in the GRE scoring section. Test takers who decide to see their scores will not be able to cancel their scores. Test takers may choose to cancel their scores, but they must do that before viewing them.

  Remember, scores are only sent to schools at the request of the GRE test taker, and with the newScoreSelect Any feature, test takers may choose to send the scores from one test and not from another. This pretty much eliminates the need to cancel scores – if scores are low, the test taker can simply choose not to share them.