Spring Break
GRE content, format to change
By: Candace Birkelbach
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News
July 31 will be the last day students can take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) general test before it changes to a longer, more difficult format, and no exams will be administered during the summer months of August through mid-September, said Russell Schaffer, senior communications manager for Kaplan test prep and admissions.
The GRE general test has been revised, and students will be required to take the updated version starting in September 2007. The first tests will be on Sept. 10, 15 or 16, depending on location, officials of the GRE board announced in early February. Students can register for the new exam beginning in July 2007.
The current version of the exam is a two-and-a-half hour, computer adaptive format that accommodates to the student's particular performance level. The new exam will last four hours and is non-adaptive, meaning the test is identical for everyone.
"This is the most significant change in the 55-year history of the GRE," said Susan Kaplan, director of graduate programs for Kaplan "Every aspect of the exam has changed, and the new version will require a lot more stamina from the test-taker due to the increased length."
Kaplan said if students feel prepared, they should take the old version of the GRE before July 31. Students should begin preparation at least three months before the exam and need to adjust their prepping schedules if they planned on taking the exam during the summer.
"We are also alerting people now because it is essential that we have a representative population of test takers in the September administrations in order to set the new score scale for the revised Verbal and Quantitative measures, and we are committed to setting the scale the right way because it will be used for decades to come," said Isaac Colbert, chair of the GRE Board and dean for graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The old exam score range was 200-800 points and the new exam will be 130-170 points.
The GRE general test has been revised, and students will be required to take the updated version starting in September 2007. The first tests will be on Sept. 10, 15 or 16, depending on location, officials of the GRE board announced in early February. Students can register for the new exam beginning in July 2007.
The current version of the exam is a two-and-a-half hour, computer adaptive format that accommodates to the student's particular performance level. The new exam will last four hours and is non-adaptive, meaning the test is identical for everyone.
"This is the most significant change in the 55-year history of the GRE," said Susan Kaplan, director of graduate programs for Kaplan "Every aspect of the exam has changed, and the new version will require a lot more stamina from the test-taker due to the increased length."
Kaplan said if students feel prepared, they should take the old version of the GRE before July 31. Students should begin preparation at least three months before the exam and need to adjust their prepping schedules if they planned on taking the exam during the summer.
"We are also alerting people now because it is essential that we have a representative population of test takers in the September administrations in order to set the new score scale for the revised Verbal and Quantitative measures, and we are committed to setting the scale the right way because it will be used for decades to come," said Isaac Colbert, chair of the GRE Board and dean for graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The old exam score range was 200-800 points and the new exam will be 130-170 points.
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