Beginning in September, the Graduate Admissions Common Test will be completed in less than two hours, about half the time the current test takes
Post Date – 11:00 PM, Thursday – 6/1/23
Photo: Facebook/GRE General Test
New Delhi: Beginning in September, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test will take less than two hours, roughly half the length of the current test, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced Thursday. Candidates will also receive their official scores within 10 days.
ETS said the main changes being introduced to the test include — removing the “Analyze Argument” task from the Analytical Writing section, reducing the number of questions on the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections, and removing the “Unscored” section. The earlier test time used to be 3 hours and 45 minutes, but starting in September it will be 1 hour and 58 minutes. Candidates currently receive official scores within 15 days.
“The changes we’re announcing today underscore the importance we place on putting our customers at the center of everything we do. As we continue to introduce product innovations, we’re committed to balancing two things—maintaining rigor and effectiveness while improving test taker experience,” said ETS CEO Amit Sevak. ETS administers the TOEFL and GRE English language tests. The GRE General Test is one of the most widely used tests for admission to graduate and professional programs, including business and law. It assesses the verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are critical to success in most postgraduate level courses. GRE scores are an important component of overall admissions because they play a unique role in the application as the only research-based, fair and objective measure of cognitive skills.
Registration for the shorter exam is now open, with test dates starting 22 September 2023. India is the second largest market for GRE candidates after the United States. During 2021-22, 124,000 candidates sat the exam in the US compared to 114,000 in India. According to Kunal Dasgupta, Chairman of Admissions and Financial Aid, IIM Bangalore, the exam time needs to be shortened to make the exam fit for the current era.
“At IIM Bangalore, the GRE is one of the assessments to be considered. Looking forward to the new version, which recommends a shorter test time, which reflects ETS’s commitment to prioritizing the needs of test takers. We congratulate ETS for bringing the GRE General Test into the current era, while ensuring It remains as reliable as ever for institutions and test-takers,” Dasgupta said. Beginning in September, test takers can access official GRE test prep resources and practice exams designed for the updated, simplified test. Since the shorter exam has the same question types (except that the Analytical Writing “Analyzing an Argument” essay has been removed), candidates can continue to use existing official GRE test prep materials.
