By Emily Roche
Students can avoid a longer and more challenging GRE test experience by taking the test before September 2007, when several major changes will take place.
Not only will the test increase from its current length of approximately two and a half hours to nearly four hours, but the number of times it is administered throughout the year will also decrease.
'The new test will require more stamina on the part of the test taker,' said Susan Kaplan, Director of Graduate Programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. 'Right now the test is given almost every day of the year, but with the test change it will only be available up to thirty times per year depending on the market. So there will be less flexibility on the part of the test taker.'
Kaplan said there are several reasons the Educational Testing Service, or ETS, has decided to change the GRE.
'The ETS wants the exam to be a more accurate predictor of success in graduate school,' Kaplan said. 'The new test will include higher cognitive testing and reasoning skills.'
The new GRE will see changes in several sections of the test. The quantitative section will include less geometry, more data interpretation and more complex word problems. The verbal section will have more critical reading and less vocabulary, and the analytical section will have two short essay questions instead of one longer one.
Test scoring will also change due to the new test format. Instead of the current point scale of 200-800, with 800 being the highest possible score, scores will be given based on an overall point scale of 130-170.
The ETS has made sure all schools are aware of these changes and will know how to judge these new scores when the time comes, Kaplan said.
'ETS will release a table in November of next year to compare old test scores to new test scores,' Kaplan said. 'So schools will know how to evaluate new test scores.'
There are plenty of opportunities for students to learn more about the new GRE and prepare for the changes. Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions has prepared a website dedicated to these changes and also includes sample questions, links to free events in any area and free practice tests that are very popular among future GRE test takers, Kaplan said.
'These test changes are only ten months away, so we encourage students to plan ahead,' Kaplan said.
For more information about change to the GRE, visit www.kaptest.com/newgre.