GRE

GRE
Educational Testing Service · Public domain · source
Name	GRE
Caption	Graduate admissions test
Administered by	Educational Testing Service
Purpose	Admit to graduate and business schools
First administered	1936
Regions	International
Frequency	Multiple times per year

GRE

The GRE is a standardized admissions examination used by many universities and business schools worldwide to evaluate applicants for graduate and professional programs. It assesses skills in verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing, providing a common measure to compare candidates from diverse academic backgrounds across institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The test interacts with admission practices at institutions including Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Chicago.

Overview

The GRE serves as a standardized metric in admissions processes at postgraduate institutions like Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University. Sponsors and users include departments in fields associated with National Science Foundation, programs connected to Fulbright Program, and professional schools such as Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and London Business School. Test results inform decisions alongside academic records from institutions such as University of Michigan, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, and Peking University.

History

Origins trace to earlier graduate examinations and initiatives by organizations like Educational Testing Service and influences from standardized testing movements linked to institutions such as Princeton University and Columbia University. The exam evolved through milestones involving policy decisions and revisions resembling reforms seen at World War II-era institutions and later shifts in testing exemplified by changes at Law School Admission Council and Medical College Admission Test administrations. Major format redesigns occurred in years paralleling developments at Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles, and were shaped by stakeholders including graduate departments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology.

Test Format and Content

Current sections mirror common skill domains emphasized by faculties at places like Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University. The verbal reasoning section tests reading and text-analysis abilities referenced in syllabi from Oxford University Press and course materials at University of Cambridge. Quantitative reasoning covers concepts found in curricula at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and National University of Singapore. The analytical writing section asks test-takers to compose essays similar to tasks assigned in first-year programs at Yale University, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and University of California, Berkeley.

Question types include text-completion and sentence-equivalence items resembling exercises used in preparatory offerings from organizations like Kaplan, Princeton Review, Manhattan Prep, and Magoosh, and quantitative problem-solving questions akin to undergraduate coursework at Cornell University, NYU, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington.

Preparation and Scoring

Preparation resources are offered by test-prep firms and university centers at Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, Los Angeles. Study materials often reference sample problems and practice tests produced by Educational Testing Service and commercial publishers connected to Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Scoring reports are used by admissions committees at Brown University, University of Chicago, Duke University, Northwestern University, and Johns Hopkins University to contextualize applicants’ records. Official score scales and concordance tables have been compared with metrics used by Graduate Management Admission Council and historical measures at LSAT-using law schools such as Yale Law School and Harvard Law School.

Administration and Accessibility

The exam is administered in testing centers and via at-home formats overseen by Educational Testing Service with coordination in regions served by agencies and centers in cities like New York City, London, Toronto, Sydney, and Beijing. Provisions for accommodations are arranged in partnership with disability services at institutions such as Columbia University, University of Michigan, University College London, University of Toronto, and University of Sydney. Global administration schedules and registration processes interact with academic calendars at University of Oxford, Cambridge University, Brown University, Princeton University, and Yale University.

Uses and Impact

Admissions offices at graduate schools including Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, Princeton University, and Yale University use GRE scores alongside academic transcripts and recommendation letters in offers of admission and funding decisions. The exam influences recruitment by research groups funded by agencies like National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and international scholarship programs such as Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, and Commonwealth Scholarship. Debates about test relevance and equity have involved panels and reports from bodies like American Educational Research Association, discussions at conferences hosted by Association of American Universities, and policy reviews at institutions such as University of California and University of Michigan.

Category:Standardized tests