By Ame Phitwong
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is undergoing major changes and a completely revised test will be administered beginning in September. The last time the current version of the test will be offered is July 31. The new GRE will have a new computer format, take longer to complete and have less test dates available.
Amy Cavanaugh, director of Career Services, wrote in an e-mail that students have not expressed concern about the changes.
"There is no reason to be concerned or worried. As always, students should do their research and prepare to take the GRE. There are several resources available online and in print to assist people who are taking the test," she wrote.
The GRE is an entrance exam required by most graduate schools. The Education Testing Service (ETS) is the organization reformatting the GRE and they said that the changes to the GRE were done to address security concerns associated with continuous testing and to increase the test's validity.
Junior Prem Vuppuluri plans to take the GRE and does not feel concerned about the changes.
"As long as colleges still use the GRE as an important assessment of students' work, it doesn't matter how the test changes," he said.
The GRE is switching from the computer-based testing to computer-adaptive testing. ETS explained that this change was to increase test security and limit the reuse of questions. The computer-based test is given in fixed forms where everyone receives the same questions in the same order. The score is based on the number correct, incorrect and blank questions. This raw score is translated into a final scaled score.
The new GRE is computer-adaptive and increases in difficulty as questions are correctly answered. The next question would be easier if an incorrect answer was marked. The computer adjusts the level of questions to the individual's level where half of the questions have been answered correct and half wrong. The final score is based on that performance.
Because the new GRE is computer adaptive, the ETS estimates the time to complete the test is more than four hours. The current GRE is only 2.5 hours. This increase in time and increase in questions will change the scoring rubric for the test.
Junior Kevin Young feels indifferent.
"I don't think a standardized test that is longer will tell them much more [about the student]," he said. Young is in ROTC and said the four-plus hours are nothing compared to the eight hour exam he has to take for ROTC.
According to the Princeton Review website, the new GRE contains question types that have never been tested on any standard exams. In the verbal section, questions will be emphasized on higher cognitive skills rather than vocabulary and in the math section, test takers will be expected to use more quantitative reasoning and encounter more real life and data interpretation questions.
Furthermore, analogy and antonym questions are completely eliminated from the verbal section of the test. Instead, more critical reading passages will be included. The verbal section will be split into two 40-minute sessions. The math section will also have two 40-minute sessions and fewer geometry questions.
The test will include a new critical thinking section. The new GRE will give only 30 minute segments each for two essays whereas the current GRE gives one 30-minute and one 45-minute segment.
"For the most part it sounds better except for the fact it's almost twice as long," senior Robert Benim said. Benim took the old GRE at the end of last summer and is relieved he did. "It was basically a harder SAT."
The availability of test dates has also decreased. The new GRE will be offered on approximately 35 fixed test dates, whereas the current GRE may be taken year-round on most days.
Princeton Review said that students who are taking the exam before July 31 should not worry about the changes and concentrate on the exam in its current form. It is not yet known how graduate schools will react to the new exam, but Princeton Review and ETS said scores from both tests should be accepted during the 2007 to 2008 application cycle.
