The Graduate Record Examinations ( GRE ) is the standard test that is the admission requirement for most graduate schools in the United States. GRE is owned and managed by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The test was founded in 1936 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
According to ETS, the GRE aims to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills that have been acquired during long learning periods. The content of GRE consists of certain algebra, geometry, arithmetic, and particular vocabulary. The GRE General Test is offered as a computer-based exam held at Prometric testing centers. In the admissions process of graduate schools, the degree of emphasis placed on GRE scores varies greatly between school and department within the school. The importance of GRE scores can range from simply the formality of admissions to important selection factors.
The GRE was significantly overhauled in August 2011, resulting in a non-adaptive exam on a question-by-question basis, but by part, so performance on the verbal and mathematical parts first determines the difficulty of the second part presented. Overall, this test retains the part and many types of questions from its predecessors, but the rating scale is converted to a scale of 130-170 (from 200-800 scale).
The cost of taking the test is US $ 205, although ETS will reduce costs under certain circumstances. They also promote financial assistance to GRE applicants proving economic hardship. ETS does not release a score that is older than 5 years, although the graduate program's policy on acceptance score older than 5 years will vary.
Video Graduate Record Examinations
History
Graduate Record Examinations "began in 1936 as a joint experiment in higher education by the dean of graduate schools from four eastern universities and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching."
The first universities that tried to test on his students were Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University and Columbia University. The University of Wisconsin was the first public university to ask their students to take the test in 1938. It was first given to students at the University of Iowa in 1940, where he was analyzed by psychologist Dewey Stuit. It was first taken by a student at Texas Tech University in 1942. In 1943, it was taken by a student at Michigan State University, where he was analyzed by Paul Dressel. It was taken by more than 45,000 students who enrolled to 500 colleges in 1948.
"Until the Education Testing Service was founded in January 1948, the Graduate Record Examination remains the Carnegie Foundation project."
Maps Graduate Record Examinations
Structure
The GRE General Computer-based Test consists of six parts. The first part is always the analytical writing section involving the problem and argument tasks separately. The next five sections consist of two parts of verbal reasoning, two parts of quantitative reasoning, and an experimental or research section. These five sections can occur in any order. The experimental section is not taken into account in the final score but is not differentiated from the printed part. Unlike computer adaptive tests before August 2011, the GRE General Test is a multistage test, where the performance of examinees in the previous section determines the difficulty of the next section. This format allows the researched person to freely move back and forth between the questions in each section, and the testing software allows the user to "tag" questions in each section for review later if time is left. The entire test procedure takes approximately 3 hours 45 minutes. One minute break is offered after each section and 10 minutes of rest after the third section.
GRE General Paper-based test also consists of six parts. Analytical writing is divided into two parts, one part for each problem and the task of argument. The next four sections consist of two verbal sections and two quantitative parts in varying order. No experimental section on paper-based test. This version is only available in areas where computer-based versions are not available.
Verbal section
Computer-based verbal sections assess reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and vocabulary use. Verbal tests are rated on a 130-170 scale, in 1-point increments (Before August, 2011 the scale was 200-800, in 10-point increase). In the general examination, each verbal section consists of 20 questions to be completed within 30 minutes. Each verbal section consists of about 6 text completions, 4 sentences of equality, and 10 critical reading questions. Changes in 2011 include an emphasis on the knowledge of rote vocabulary and the elimination of antonyms and analogies. A text completion item has replaced sentence completion and a new type of reading question that allows selection of some answers added.
Quantitative section
The computer-based quantitative section assesses basic-level mathematics knowledge and basic school-based reasoning skills. Quantitative tests are rated on a 130-170 scale, in 1-point increments (Before August 2011 the scale was 200-800, in 10-point increase). In the general examination, each quantitative section consists of 20 questions to be completed in 35 minutes. Each quantitative section consists of about 8 quantitative comparisons, 9 troubleshooting items, and 3 data interpretation questions. Changes in 2011 include the addition of numerical entry items that require examinees to fill in blank and multiple choice items requiring examinees to select some correct answers.
The analytical writing section
The analytical writing section consists of two different essays, a "problem assignment" and a "task of argument". The writing section is rated on a 0-6 scale, with a half-point increase. Essays written on computers using ETS-designed word processing programs. This program only allows basic computer functions and does not contain spell checker or other advanced features. Each essay is rated by at least two readers on a six point holist scale. If two scores are in one point, the average score is taken. If two scores differ by more than one point, the third reader examines the responses.
Troubleshooting
The test taker is given 30 minutes to write an essay on the selected topic. The topic topic is selected from the question set, which the GRE Program has published as a whole. Individuals preparing for GRE can access the set of tasks on the ETS website.
Task argument
The test participants will be given an argument (ie a set of facts and considerations that lead to a conclusion) and asked to write an essay that criticizes the argument. The test participants are asked to consider the logic of the argument and make suggestions on how to improve the argument logic. The test participants are expected to overcome the logical flaws of the argument and not give personal opinions about the subject. The time provided for this essay is 30 minutes. Arguments are selected from a set of topics, which have been published by the GRE Program as a whole. Individuals preparing for GRE can access the set of tasks on the ETS website.
Experimental sections
The experimental section, which can be either verbal or quantitative, contains new questions ETS is considering to be used in the future. Although the experimental section is not taken into account in the taker-test scores, it is unidentified and appears identical to the assessed section. Because test takers do not have a sure way of knowing which parts are experimental, it is usually recommended that test takers try their best and focus on each section. Sometimes the research sections identified at the end of the test are given in place of the experimental section. No experimental section on paper-based GRE.
Scoring
An examineant can miss one or more questions in the multiple choice section and still receive a perfect score of 170. Likewise, even if no questions are answered correctly, 130 is the lowest possible score.
Percentage of filtered score
The percentiles for the current General test and the concordance of the previous format are as follows. Means and standard deviations for sizes on the new scaling scale are not yet available:
The "field division" of the test participants was "limited to those who earned a bachelor's degree up to two years before the exam date." ETS does not provide value data for "non-traditional" students who have dropped out of school for more than two years, although their own report "RR-99-16" indicates that 22% of all test takers in 1996 were over 30 years old..
Use in acceptance
Many graduate schools in the United States require the GRE results as part of the admissions process. GRE is a standardized test intended to measure all the graduate's abilities in general academic tasks (regardless of their field of specialization) and to what extent graduate education has developed their verbal skills, quantitative skills, and abstract thinking.
In addition to the GRE score, admission to graduate school depends on several other factors, such as GPA, letters of recommendation, and statement of purpose. In addition, unlike other standard acceptance tests (such as SAT, LSAT, and MCAT), the use and weighting of GRE scores varies greatly not only from school to school but also from department to department and program to program. For example, most business schools and economic programs require very high GRE or GMAT scores to enter, while engineering programs are known to allow for more variety of scores. The liberal arts program can only consider the applicant's verbal score, while math and science programs can only consider quantitative skills. Some schools use GRE in admission decisions, but not in funding decisions; others use it for scholarship selection and fellowship fellowship, but not for acceptance. In some cases, GRE may be a common requirement for graduate admissions imposed by universities, while certain departments may not consider scores at all. Graduate schools will usually give students an average score previously accepted and information on how GRE is considered in the acceptance and funding decisions. In some cases, the program has a difficult cut-off requirement for GRE; for example, the Yale Economics PhD program requires a minimum quantitative score of 160 to apply. The best way to ascertain how a particular school or program evaluates the GRE score in the admissions process is to contact the person responsible for graduate acceptance for the specific program in question.
In February 2016, the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law became the first law school to receive a GRE or Law of Admissions Test (LSAT) from all applicants. Universities make decisions after conducting research showing that GRE is a valid and reliable predictor of first-class law school students.
In spring 2017, Harvard Law School announces joining the University of Arizona Law in accepting GRE in addition to LSAT from applicants to JD's three-year program.
GRE Subject Tests
In addition to the General Test, there are also six GRE Subject tests that test knowledge in specific areas of Biology; Chemistry; Literature in English; Mathematics; Physics; and Psychology. The duration of each exam is 170 minutes.
In the past, subject tests were also offered in Computer Science, Economics, Revision Education, Engineering, Geology, History, Music, Political Science, Sociology, and Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology. In April 1998, the Revised Education and Political Science exam was stopped. In April 2000, the History and Sociology exam was stopped; with Economics, Engineering, Music and Geology discontinued in April 2001. The Computer Science Exam was suspended after April 2013. Biochemistry, Cells and Molecular Biology were discontinued in December 2016.
GRE and GMAT
The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a computer-adaptive standardized test in mathematics and English to measure the aptitude to succeed academically in postgraduate business studies. Business schools generally use the test as one of the many selection criteria for admission to the MBA program. Beginning in 2009, many business schools started receiving GRE as a replacement for GMAT scores. Policies vary widely over the years. However, in the 2014-2015 admissions season, most business schools accept both tests equally. Either a GMAT score, or a GRE score, may be submitted for application to the MBA program. Business schools also receive scores for other Masters and PhD programs (non-MBAs).
The main problem in which the acceptance policy of a business school test varies is how long a GRE or GMAT score can be before it is no longer accepted. The default is that the score should not be longer than 5 years (eg, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School).
Get started
Various resources are available for those who want to prepare GRE. ETS provides a preparation software called PowerPrep, which contains two practice tests of retired questions, as well as further practice questions and review materials. Because the software replicates the test format and the questions used, it can be useful to predict the actual GRE score. ETS does not license their past questions to other companies, making them the only source of official retirement material. ETS is used to publish "BIG BOOK" which contains a number of genuine GRE questions; However, this publication was abandoned. Some companies provide courses, books, and other unofficial preparation materials.
Some students take GRE using exam preparation companies. Students who do not use this course often rely on materials from university textbooks, GRE prep Books, sample tests, and free web resources.
Test location
While general and subject tests are held in many undergraduate institutions, general computer-based tests are only held at test centers with appropriate technology accommodation. In the United States, students in big cities or from large universities will usually find the nearest test center, while those in more isolated areas may have to travel several hours to an urban or university location. Many industrialized countries also have test centers, but sometimes test takers must cross national borders.
Validity
Analysis of GRE validity in predicting the success of school graduates found a correlation of 0.30 to 0.45 between GRE and first year and overall GPA of graduates. The correlation between the GRE score and the graduate school completion rate ranged from 0.11 (for the now analytical section is dead) to 0.39 (for the GREsubject test). Correlations with faculty rankings ranged from 0.35 to 0.50.
Criticism
Bias
Critics have claimed that the computer adaptive methodology can prevent some test participants because of the difficulty of changing questions with performance. For example, if test takers are presented with very easy half-way questions to the exam, they can conclude that they are not performing well, which will affect their ability as the exam continues, although the difficulty of the question is subjective. In contrast, standard testing methods can discourage students by giving them more difficult items beforehand.
Critics also pointed out that adaptive computer methods to put more weight on the first few questions are biased towards test takers who usually perform poorly at the start of the test due to stress or confusion before becoming more comfortable as the exam continues. On the other hand, standard form tests remain equally "biased" to students with less test stamina because they will need about twice as long an equivalent computer adaptive test to get the same level of precision.
GRE has also experienced the same racial bias criticism that has been raised against other acceptance tests. In 1998, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education noted that the average score for black test participants in 1996 was 389 in the verbal section, 409 in the quantitative section, and 423 in the analytics, while the white participants an average test of 496, 538, and 564, respectively. The National Association of Test Directors Symposia in 2004 expressed confidence that the difference in simple average scores may not be proof of bias unless the population is known to have equal ability. A more effective, acceptable, and empirical approach is the analysis of differential test functions, which examine the differences in item response theory curves for subgroups; the best approach to this is the DFIT framework.
Predictors of poor graduate school performance
The GREs are criticized for not being the correct measure of whether a student will succeed in graduate school. Robert Sternberg (now at Oklahoma State University-Stillwater, working at Yale University at the time of the study), a long-term critic of modern intelligence tests in general, found the general test of GRE is a weak predictor of success in postgraduate studies in psychology.. The strongest relationship is found for the now defunct analytical part.
The ETS publishes a report ("What is a GRE Value?") That shows GRE predicted values ​​on student success indexes at the graduate level. The problem with previous studies is the statistical phenomenon of range limitation. The correlation coefficient is sensitive to the sample range for testing. In particular, if only students are accepted for the studied postgraduate program (at Sternberg & Williams and other studies), the relationship is shrouded. The validity coefficients range from 0.30 to 0.45 between GRE and the first two years and overall IPK graduates in the ETS 'study.
Kaplan and Saccuzzo stated that the most predicted GRE criteria are the first year grades in graduate school. However, this correlation is only in the high tens to the low twenties. "If the test correlates with the criteria at the 0.4 level, then it accounts for 16% of the variability in that criterion, with the other 84% generated from unknown factors and errors" (p.a, 303). Graduate schools may place too much importance on standardized tests rather than on factors that are more responsible for the success of graduate school, such as previous research experience, GPA, or work experience. Although postgraduate schools consider these areas, many times schools will not consider applicants who score under the current score of around 314 (1301 previous grades). Kaplan and Saccuzzo also stated that "GRE predicts [s] either clinical skills or even the ability to solve real-world problems" (p. 303).
Historical vulnerability to cheat
In May 1994, Kaplan, Inc. warned ETS, in a hearing before the New York legislative committee that a small set of questions available for computer adaptive tests makes it vulnerable to cheating. ETS assured the researchers that it used several sets of questions and that the tests were safe. This was later found to be incorrect.
In December 1994, requested by student reports on recycling questions, then the current GRE Program Director for Kaplan, Inc. and Knewton CEO, Jose Ferreira led a team of 22 staff members deployed to 9 US cities to take the exam. Kaplan, Inc. later presented the ETS with 150 questions, representing 70-80% of the GRE. According to preliminary news releases, ETS looks grateful to Stanley H. Kaplan, Inc. for identifying security issues. However, on 31 December, ETS sued Kaplan, Inc. for infringement of federal electronic communications privacy actions, copyright laws, breach of contract, fraud, and confidentiality agreements signed by test participants on the day of the exam. On January 2, 1995, an agreement was reached outside the court.
In addition, in 1994, the scoring algorithm for the computer-adaptive form of GRE was found to be unsafe. ETS recognizes that employees of Kaplan, Inc., led by Jose Ferreira, a reverse-engineered key feature of the GRE rating algorithm. The researchers found that the performance of test takers on the first few questions of the exam had a disproportionate effect on the final score of the test participants. To maintain the integrity of the score, ETS revises its judgment and uses a more sophisticated assessment algorithm.
revision 2011
In 2006, ETS announced plans to enact significant changes in the GRE format. Changes planned for the revised GRE include longer test times, departures from adaptive-computer testing, new assessment scales, and an improved focus on reasoning skills and critical thinking for both quantitative and qualitative sections.
On April 2, 2007, ETS announced its decision to cancel plans to revise the GRE. The announcement cited concerns about the ability to provide clear and equal access to new tests after planned changes as explanations for cancellations. ETS states, however, that they are planning "to implement a large number of planned test content improvements in the future", although specific details about the changes have not been made public.
Changes to the GRE came into effect on November 1, 2007, when ETS began to enter new types of inquiries in the exam. The changes mostly focus on the "fill in the blank" type answer for the math section that requires test participants to fill in the blanks directly, without being able to choose from multiple choice answers. ETS is currently planning to introduce two new questions in each of the quantitative sections, while most questions will be presented in a regular format.
Since January 2008, Understanding Reading in the verbal section has been reformatted, line numbers "lines will be replaced by highlights when it is necessary to focus test participants on certain information in sections" to "help students more easily find concerned information in reading readings."
In December 2009, ETS announced plans to move forward with significant revisions to the GRE in 2011. The changes include a new 130-170 assessment scale, the elimination of certain types of questions such as antonyms and analogies, the addition of online calculators, and the removal of CAT- by-questions, supporting part-by-section adjustments. The GRE revision General test replaces the General GRE test on August 1, 2011. The revised GRE said better with the design and provides a better test experience. New types of questions in the revised pattern should test the skills required in graduate and business school programs. Starting July 2012 onwards, GRE announced an option for users to customize their scores called ScoreSelect.
GRE before October 2002
The earliest versions of GRE were only tested for both verbal and quantitative abilities. For several years prior to October 2002, GRE has a separate Analytical Capability section that tests candidates on logical and analytical reasoning abilities. This section is replaced by Analytical Writing Rating.
See also
- List of acceptance tests
GRE Subject Test:
- GRE Biology Test
- GRE Chemistry Test
- GRE Literature in the English Test
- GRE Mathematics Test
- GRE Physics Test
- The GRE Psychology Test
Other tests:
- Legal Admissions Test (LSAT)
- Medical University Entrance Test (MCAT)
- Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
- Pass the Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)
- SAT
- ACT (test)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- International English Testing System (IELTS)
References
External links
- Official website
- GRE information website for Mainland China, English version - by Chinese National Education Examination Authority
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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