GRE sees changes in three sections

Taking the Graduate Record Examination is the first step for students looking at attending graduate or many business schools. The Educational Testing Service has revised the test and is preparing to implement the new version.    

ETS began registering people for the newly revised GRE on March 15 and will begin administering the more test-taker friendly version August 1.

The format of the GRE mostly will stay the same, with three sections: verbal, quantitative math and  analytical writing section, but all sections have undergone some sort of modification, said Tom Ewing ETS director of press relations.

Ewing said the revised form of the GRE emulates how students would normally take a test.

In the verbal section, the vocabulary-based questions will be removed and replaced with reading comprehension and content analysis questions.

The math portion of the test still will include questions on algebra and geometry, but also incorporate questions that require a greater interpretation of data and real life scenarios, Ewing said.

Students now will be given a calculator in the math section, but this probably means the section will be more challenging, said Jenny Lynch, graduate faculty manager for Kaplan.

Analytical writing will be shorter, asking two focused questions that involve responding to a logical argument and explaining complex ideas.

"We believe the most important change is that we have made the GRE a much more test-taker friendly test," Ewing said. "Within a section now, students can go forward and backwards, mark questions they want to come back to, answer questions and come back and change the answer."

In the old form of the GRE, questions evolved from the answer you given on the previous question, said Nancy Asher, the Truman Coordinator of Testing and Reporting.

The scoring of the GRE also has been changed drastically, from a 200 to 800 scale based on 10-point increments to a 130 to 170 scale based on one-point increments, Lynch said.

Business schools across the country have begun accepting the GRE in the place of traditional entrance exams and ETS is trying to become a better option for new test takers, Lynch said.

While the price of taking the GRE will not change, if students sign up to take the test in August and September they receive 50 percent off, Ewing said.

Asher said there is a downfall to the half-price tests — results will not be available until November.

ETS will need to administer enough tests to have a large enough database to accurately score them, so it will take longer to get results, Lynch said.

"I knew that the GRE was changing some, but I didn't know the specifics," senior Emily Richmeyer said. "I was planning on taking the GRE in that time frame already, so I will be taking advantage of the deal."

ETS has provided free test preparation material on their website and have free downloadable software that allows students to take a simulated version of the test, Ewing said.

Richmeyer said she would take advantage of the free resources and thinks they will prepare her for the test.

Ewing said there are more resources available at relatively low-priced options if students need them.

Kaplan will continue classes for the current test until the summer and will release test preparation materials for the revised GRE mid-spring, Lynch said.

"We have specific goals for score users and test takers," Ewing said. "For students, we want to give them something that accurately represents their skills they are supposed to have before entering graduate schools."