The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a regulated test for gauging a graduate’s skill for conceptual thinking in analytical writing, mathematics, and vocabulary. It is under the ownership and administration of the Education Testing Service (ETS)
It was first used in 1936 by the Dale Carnegie Foundation, which specializes in matters connected to the advancement of targeted teaching activities. Most graduate schools have adopted the GRE as a way of evaluating the applicant’s qualification for the required program. The GRE became widely known starting from August, 2011. The test is offered via a computer, though a paper-based exam may be considered in the case of an inappropriate computer network location.
Approximately one thousand centers in not less than 160 countries are used for this test. Even though most schools of business prioritize their applicants to attempt the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) before applying for an MBA program, many of the schools also consider the GRE scores as well.
The test also includes a variety of parts, such as writing, verbal, quantitative, and experimental ones. The GRE exam evaluates the student’s ability in vocabulary, unlike the GMAT, which concentrates mainly onmathematics.
Taking the GRE test
The GRE consists of six sessions: the analytical writing session, two verbal reasoning sessions, two quantitative reasoning sessions and a research, or an experimental session. The experimental part is not graded in the final result, though it still appears on the result provided.
The verbal part is tailored to gauge the student’s skill for inspecting and assessing written information. It usually measures their potential to internalize the ideas collected from various records, see and find out the relationships between different segments of a sentence and point out the relating concepts as well as words.
The quantitative segment uses the idea of geometry, data analysis and algebra to evaluate the student’s capability of solving problems.
The analytical writing area tests the potential of the student in critical thinking and analytical writing. Precisely, how best they can understand a sophisticated idea and bring it out perfectly.
Few institutions may recommend the students to do tests on subjects like physics, psychology, biology, English literature, and chemistry. The areas examined are not fixed. Tests for areas like computer science and biochemistry have been terminated, though the records of the passed exams still exist. The tests are always carried out in a specialized center.
The time limit of the exam is three hours and forty-five minutes with 10-minute breaks after each session. Thetest can be attempted more than once, but only after 21 days from the previous sitting. Taking the test requires a fee of $205, but certain indulgences can be made for the students unable to raise the full sum. A student may opt to sit the exam several times to improve the scores so that they may acquire a chance of joining an institution of their dream. The test takers are allowed to select the score to present to graduate schools, which is not the case with other normalized tests.
Note that the general overview of GRE test prep can be found on different online platforms. It will help you prepare for with exam and pass it with flying colors.
Core issues afflicting the GRE test
Most examiners mess up with the ETS directive of screening the applicants, since some students are involved in cheating. For example, due to rampant improvement in technology, some Chinese students come up with fake passports and sit the test to be ableto enter a university abroad.
Indeed, it has been proven that some GRE candidates upload the assessment questions they can remember to various online websites and social media chat rooms. With this often done soon after leaving the examination rooms, it has proven to be a tough problem for the Educational Testing Service to combat.
This becomes a really huge drawback since those responsible for organizing the tests cannot introduce new questions fast enough to prevent new applicants from accessing them. The ETS is trying to curb this cheating by employing very tight security by introducing the biometric systems and installing CCTVs.
Effectiveness of the GRE test score
The GRE test is used as a screening tool to get qualified candidates for the post-graduate program the applicant is interested in. It is expected that the qualified students should be competent and strong enough to excellently handle the course.
This might not be the case considering the research conducted among 683 students admitted in the Vanderbilt University IGP, during the years when the GRE Questions & Answers scores were very high:from2003 to 2011.
The GRE scores were incorporated to ascertain the allegations that they could influence the students’ graduate school performance in the following areas:
- graduation with a PhD
- excelling in the qualifying test
- time needed for the PhD defense
- count of presentations at national or international meetings
- count of first author peer-reviewed publications
- founding a personal grant or a fellowship
- score for the coursework in the first semester
- cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)
- final assessment of the student’s performance as a scientist, gauged by the research mentor
The outcome suggested that the GRE test results had neither no relationship to the students’ progress in the course. There was an average prediction on the cumulative grades and some relationship to mentor scrutiny after defense.
Significance of the GRE test
The GRE test is a much needed assessment module for the entire education system in the United States. By putting all applicants on a level platform despite their undergraduate GPAs that might have been affected either positively or negatively due to variations in universities curriculums. This is because the exams are standardized, and so the applicants get equal chances, which might not have been the case without the GRE test.
Although its benefits are numerous, the aspect of cheating sometimes spoils the relevance of the exam. Though the ETS is putting an effort to eliminate this problem, it would be more effective if a program was created that could automatically delete a question once it is tackled. In this case the test organizers would be required to upload another one as the previous is deleted. The assurance of honesty would also be guaranteed if the tests were carried out orally.
On the other hand, the GRE test does not exhaustively attain its objective of screening the students. As seen from the study presented above, its usefulness can be rated as average. It would therefore be more effective to incorporate another gauge than just a one-time exam, or maybe improve on the way of testing.