What has changed?
The test has moved to being one that lays more emphasis on inference-based reasoning.
In fact, the names of the sections have also been changed from 'Verbal Ability' and 'Quantitative Ability' to 'Verbal Reasoning' and 'Quantitative reasoning'.
What this change translates to: It has become almost impossible to crack the exam by 'mugging up'.
For instance, in the existing pattern, it was possible to learn by heart a host of words, and armed with this, get a good score in the verbal ability section.
But now, with more emphasis on complex reasoning, this is not possible.
Therefore, as the new pattern requires more constant practice than overnight cramming, the amount of time that one needs to commit to prepare for the test has shot up.
If you are thinking, "That's it? What's all the fuss about?", think again.
Then and now
In the current pattern, the mean score that Americans get in the Verbal Ability section (out of a maximum possible 800) was 470, with the international mean being 439. Lower, but not significantly.
Here's the interesting part. In the Quantitative Ability section, however, the American average was 593, with the international average being -- believe it or not -- 686! What this means is that the rest of the world, on an average, is much better than the average American when it comes to hardcore number crunching.
Source: GRE web site
The new test however, reduces emphasis on this, and increases, albeit relatively, the emphasis on:
a. English language skills
b. Context-based inference skills
What this translates into: The Americans are suddenly (apparently) smarter, all over again!
How to prepare
The average Indian is so used to 'mugging up' information that he or she stops analysing. On the other hand, Americans, at least at college level, are encouraged to come up with original work and question the existing thought.
Therefore, they are much better prepared to present critiques, analyse situations, read between-the-lines and work on complex reasoning based problems.
Thus, while on the face of it, it looks like the revised GRE is going to make it difficult for the Indian candidate, the test actually holds a lot of promise for everyone because it is based on reasoning, which is considered by the world to be one of the main strengths of the Indians.
Table of changes
Step by step procedure:
- Home
- GRE Preparation( including new pattern)
- GENERAL SUGGESTIONS for GRE
- TOEFL- iBT preparation
- Gereral Suggestions for TOEFL
- APPLICATION PROCESS
- Required Typical STUFF for Applying
- Recommendation Letters
- SOP Preparation
- Sending GRE score thru ETS
- Sending TOEFL iBT scores thru ETS
- Financial Documentation
- Application Postage Issues
- POST APPLICATION Process
- VISA related Issues
- Note to all the readers…..
6 comments:
hey iam writing my gre in end of july....and is the pattern changed?is this true?
hey i m writing my gre in aug...will i face new gre pattern?????
Can you give the link to the original information? I checked the GRE website and found nothing like this.
I dint find any such changes in the website ?? I only saw a small change in the verbal section and it can be found in the NEWS link in ETS website for GRE...
Your article has outdated information. ETS had planned changes to the GRE but cancelled them later. I can't find the original link in the ETS archive but this is what it said:
Changes to the GRE Cancelled
Princeton, N.J. (April 2, 2007)
ETS has cancelled plans to launch the revised Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test. The decision was made in consultation with the Executive Committee of the GRE Board.
While ETS and the Board remain committed to improving the test, on balance, GRE officials said they believe problems guaranteeing complete access to the new Internet-based test outweighed the benefits of immediately moving to the new format.
ETS originally planned to launch the revised GRE General Test worldwide in September 2007. Instead, the company will continue to offer the test worldwide in its current computer-based, continuous testing format. Registrations in India, China and Japan, which had been closed, will be reopened in the near future to accommodate application deadlines. Likewise, registrations for the current GRE General Test will continue elsewhere.
“The decision to cancel the revised GRE General Test best serves the interests of test takers and the graduate institutions that use those scores to make admissions decisions,” says David Payne, Executive Director of the GRE Program at ETS. “After much debate and evaluation, it became clear that the current format offers students more convenient and flexible opportunities to test when and where they choose, while still providing score users with valid predictors of test takers’ preparedness for graduate school study.”
The primary reason for cancelling the launch of the revised GRE General Test was test taker access. Plans called for the revised test to be delivered over the new worldwide network of 3,200 Internet-based testing centers. Despite the network’s size, ETS officials did not believe that full access to the General Test for all students could be confidently assured.
“As the launch approached, ETS determined that, despite the aggressive development of our Internet-based testing network, we could not guarantee complete access to all students needing to take the exam” Payne explains. “While the graduate community supports, and in fact helped develop and pilot the revised GRE General Test, they have also stated that they are satisfied with the current GRE General Test, until such time as improvements can be gradually implemented. ETS is being responsive to their best interests.”
ETS officials will work with the GRE Board to implement many of the planned test content improvements in the future without the access issues associated with changing to an entirely new test delivered over a brand new testing network.
Administering the GRE General Test in two testing sessions in The People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong), The Republic of Korea and Taiwan will also continue for the immediate future.
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