Change In GRE postponed until 2007
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GRE Changes Postponed Until 2007
Summary
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has announced a postponement in the implementation of changes to the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) until October 2007, providing students additional preparation time.
Article
The anticipated overhaul of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) will now commence in October 2007, rather than the previously scheduled October 2006. This delay offers students more time to adapt to the changes.
The revised GRE, which has been in development, marks the most significant update in its 57-year history, affecting approximately 400,000 U.S. students annually. The transition from the current computer- and paper-based formats to the new Internet-based (iBT) version aims to benefit both test-takers and graduate institutions.
Mari Pearlman, Senior Vice President of ETS’s Higher Education Division, noted the collaboration with higher education and graduate communities in creating this revised test. The delay allows ETS to fully expand its Internet-based testing operations globally.
Announced last year but detailed only recently, the changes will affect the score range, question types, and scoring methodologies of the GRE. Madeline Hamblin, Director of the Office of Graduate Affairs at the University, supported the postponement, citing the necessity of well-equipped test centers.
Development and testing of the new GRE format continue, using the same iBT delivery platform already implemented for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. ETS plans to significantly increase testing sites worldwide over the next two years.
The GRE evaluates critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills, unrelated to specific fields of study. Upcoming changes will emphasize higher cognitive skills, reduce reliance on vocabulary, incorporate on-screen calculators, and provide more analytical writing tasks.
Highlights of the Changes:
- Duration: The new GRE will last slightly over four hours, compared to the current two-and-a-half-hour exam. It will no longer use a computer-adaptive format; all students will take the same linear exam.
- Unique Versions: Each test version will be used only once, preventing students from encountering the same questions on different dates. The test will be administered 29 times a year worldwide, with regional frequency based on demand.
- Test Centers: The revised GRE will be available at ETS's global network of Internet-based test centers and through Thomson Prometric, the world’s largest computer-based testing network.
- Score Scales: New score scales will feature 40-50 points, increasing in one-point increments, centered between 120 and 179. Final scores will be determined by field test results. Concordance tables will compare old and new scores, while the analytical writing section remains on a six-point holistic scale.
David Payne, Executive Director of the GRE Program at ETS, emphasized that these changes aim to more accurately assess graduate-level readiness. Additional interpretive information, including access to test-takers' essay responses, will be offered to graduate deans and faculty.
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