GRE exam gets a facelift

The GRE test – the test for entry into post-graduate degree programmes – is to be completely revamped for 2011. The changes are billed as the biggest revisions to the exam in its 60-year history.

Authors of the test, the Educational Testing Service in the US, have spent the past year marketing the test to aspiring business school students, in direct competition to the GMAT test, widely regarded as the entry test to business school. The new version of the test is expected to be more relevant to business students.

From the student perspective, the biggest changes will be in the verbal reasoning section, which require test-takers to read and understand relevant material. There will also be changes to the quantitative reasoning and analytical writing sections of the examination. More than 600,000 students take the test globally every year.

From the business or graduate school's perspective, the biggest change will be in the scoring system. Today the GRE results range from a minimum of 200 to a maximum of 800. The new test results will range from a minimum of 130 to a maximum of 170 points.

Liza Weale, executive director of graduate programmes for Kaplan, the test preparation company, says "the narrower scoring scale might also make test takers nervous that it will be more difficult to stand out from other test takers".

GRE test scores are valid for five years.

Della Bradshaw
The Financial Times