GRE pattern to be revamped in 2011

December 7, 2009

The graduate school entrance exam Graduate Record Exam(GRE) is all set to be revamped by 2011. Un confirmed reports suggest that the test would be slightly lengthened and it would be now graded on a new scale of 130-170. The agency which administers this test which is the Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced of this decision at the annual meeting of the council of graduate schools in San Fransisco.

The test would now be for three and half hours and its computer adaptivity would be section by section and not the earlier pattern of question by question.

The exam will still include sections on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing, each section would be revised. The new verbal section, for example, will eliminate questions on antonyms and analogies. The section will focus more on reasoning than on individual words, all of which will be used in context.

On the quantitative section, the biggest change will be the addition of an on line calculator. The writing section will still have two parts, one asking for a logical analysis and the other seeking an expression of the student’s own views. This is to discourage students from giving memorized responses.