Correction (Jan. 21 12:59 a.m.): Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story misquoted Mark McNutt, spokesman for the Educational Testing Service. McNutt actually said, “This is the largest revision of the test ever. It was time to do it.” The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
College seniors typically dread the tightly structured Graduate Record Examinations, but forthcoming changes to the test could ease their fears.
The Educational Testing Service is hoping to make the exam friendlier and more flexible for students by implementing changes to the structure and content of the exam that will go into effect in fall 2011.
“This is the largest rendition of the test ever. It was time to do it,” said Mark McNutt, spokesman for the Educational Testing Service.
GRE changesThe Educational Testing Service will be making these changes to the Graduate Record Exam in hopes of making a more flexible exam for students:
New question types to the verbal and quantitative sections
The ability to move freely throughout the exam and mark questions to go back to
A new scoring scale
“We wanted to take the GRE, which is an excellent measure of what students need to excel in grad school, and make it better.”
The goal of these changes is to make the testing process easier for students, not to impact the way admissions representatives view graduate school candidates, McNutt added.
The computer-based Graduate Record Examinations will change to allow students to move freely through the exam by skipping ahead or returning to questions. Students will also have the ability to mark the questions they wish to return to.
There will also be a new scoring scale, and electronic calculators will be provided for the math section.