By Anne N.
Beginning August 1st, 2011, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) will be implementing the new and improved GRE® revised General Test. The scores from the standardized test called the GRE® (Graduate Record Examinations®) are commonly used as part of the admission criteria for many graduate schools. The purpose of the examination is to measure those skills felt needed for a student’s success in graduate or business school.
Making the decision to go to graduate school with your “future hanging in the balance” of the results of a test like this is nerve-wracking enough. The GRE® test currently is a known entity. People can find a lot of information about it – even talk to others who have taken it before. But what can you expect from the new revised version? The purpose of this article is to make the unknown a little less unknown to help pave the way to your success.
There are four distinct areas of change in the revised GRE®. These areas are: Design, Scoring, Content, and Question Types. The changes made to these areas were made to make the assessment process a more accurate reflection of your skills and knowledge.
Design
The design of the examination includes features that make the testing environment more flexible. The design includes preview and review functionality within a section, as well as a “bookmark” feature allowing the user to mark questions within a section to return to later in the designated testing period. The new GRE® also permits the user to change and edit answers within a section. Knowing that the GRE® offers this navigational flexibility is a great relief to the user as compared to the previous rigidity of the GRE® design.
Scoring
Revised scoring methods are a great enhancement to the GRE® reporting process. Previously, the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores were reported in 10-point increments within a 200-800 point scale. The GRE® revised General Test has revamped the scoring process for these sections and will be reporting on a 130-170 scale in 1-point increments. This means the scoring report will be more specific – instead of a reported score being within a “range,” it will be an actual point score. What looked like big differences in scores in the past could be 1 or 2 points in this new scoring method and this is to the user’s distinct advantage.
Content
The GRE® revised General Test has refined the content of the examination while keeping the same sections of Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing.
The Verbal Reasoning section will center more on reasoning abilities and will not include antonyms and analogies identification. As it says on the GRE® website, the user will “no longer be tested on vocabulary out of context.”
The Quantitative section will contain scenario-based problems which require the user to use and answer with a more realistic analysis of data. The GRE® revised General Test provides an on-screen calculator helpful and handy to this section’s testing process.
The task instructions in the Analytical Writing section are more focused providing the user with a direct path towards the correct processing of information and encouraging a more accurate demonstration of critical thinking skills.
Question Types
Finally, the GRE® revised General Test offers the user a more interactive experience in question responses. Using the latest technology, the test allows the user to answer using a highlighting functionality, as well as numeric entry.
Summary and Conclusion
The GRE® revised General Test brings is a change for the graduate/business school testing world. Change is inevitable, can be good, and, in this case, to your benefit. Knowing that the changes in the GRE® revised General Test have been made to enhance the user experience is encouraging. Furthermore, the GRE website (as well as other resource sites) provides practice tests to further dispel any user’s doubts about managing the mechanical aspects of the examination.
Anne N. is a GRE content writer with Parliament Tutors. Parliament offers private GRE tutoring.
