GRE Info – GRE Administration
Educational Testing Service (ETS)
The GRE is administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), a nonprofit organization that describes its mission as "advancing the science of measurement to power human progress." Since 1947 when ETS was created to oversee test administration and research, the GRE has gone on to become one of the most recognized tests in the world, accepted at thousands of graduate programs, more than 1300 business schools, and over 120 law programs across more than 90 countries.
In addition to the GRE, ETS also administers and oversees the TOEFL (a test that assesses English language skills in an academic context), the TOEIC (a test that assesses English communication skills in the workplace), and Praxis (a test that assesses teaching skills and educator preparation). Additionally, ETS was responsible for administering the SAT until 2024, when the College Board chose to administer the exam directly.
ETS maintains a wide breadth of informational and preparatory materials on their website that can be useful to students preparing for the GRE, including official Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning questions, as well as a free official GRE guide with detailed answer explanations and tips for effectively answering test questions.
As a nonprofit organization dedicated to academic and vocational progress, ETS prioritizes maintaining the fairness and validity of their testing procedures. In addition to evaluations by trained reviewers and rigorous training for all persons involved in the development or scoring of test questions, ETS also routinely analyzes their test questions to ensure that they do not unfairly contribute to group differences.
It should also be mentioned that ETS strives to utilize a diverse pool of individuals when creating and reviewing test questions to ensure broader perspectives while reducing biases. The organization is proud to provide appropriate accommodations for test-takers with disabilities or specific health needs, including extended testing time or use of alternate testing formats.
When it comes to issues of validity, the GRE has been validated to ensure the following:
- The test measures the skills and abilities it is attempting to measure,
- The test measures appropriate content,
- The test is predictive of success,
- The test minimizes adverse consequences,
- And the test has the expected relationship with other measures of the same construct.
Through continuous research, ETS maintains an ongoing evaluation of test fairness and validity while also identifying possible areas for improvement.
By engaging in regular audits using both internal and external experts, ETS makes certain the GRE continues to meet rigorous standards. The organization also provides resources and guidelines to assist test-takers in interpreting their scores, allowing them to make informed academic and vocational decisions. According to ETS, the organization relies on a system of checks and balances when it comes to test fairness and validity, which includes surveys, committee work, data analysis, and conducting studies focused specifically on measurements, evaluations, and comparisons.
GRE Test Design
The GRE exam gives test-takers a significant amount of control over their own testing process, as it allows you to skip questions and mark those you wish to return to and review later on. While you still have a specific amount of time in which to complete each section, you can choose the order in which you complete the questions in that particular section, allowing you to start with the questions that are easiest for you and work your way up to those that are more challenging.
The GRE has been computer adaptive at the section level since 2011. Prior to 2011, the exam was adaptive at the question level, meaning that the difficulty of each question was determined by how well you performed on the previous question. While the GMAT continues to be adaptive at the question level, the GRE was revised so that your performance on the first Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section determines the difficulty of your second Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section.
The sections of the GRE exam are intended to reflect skills that are important for success in graduate, business, and law schools, and there are three distinct sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning.
The Analytical Writing section of the GRE measures your critical thinking skills and analytical writing ability by assessing how well you can articulate complex ideas, create and evaluate arguments, and sustain a focused and orderly discussion. No specific content knowledge is assessed, and Analytical Writing is the first section you will complete when taking the GRE. You will be given 30 minutes to “Analyze an Issue” and write a coherent argument in the form of an essay about a given issue.
The Verbal Reasoning sections of the GRE measure your ability to understand text (such as understanding sentences, summarizing a text, or distinguishing main points from irrelevant tangents in a passage), as well as your ability to interpret discourse (draw a conclusion, infer missing information, and identify assumptions). There are two Verbal Reasoning sections on the GRE, and you only know that they will be presented after the Analytical Writing section; you do not know beforehand the order of the sections on your specific test.
| Section Number | Number of Questions | Time to Complete Section |
| Verbal Reasoning #1 | 12 | 18 minutes |
| Verbal Reasoning #2 | 15 | 23 minutes |
Overall, you will answer a total of 27 Verbal Reasoning questions within a timeframe of 41 minutes.
The Quantitative Reasoning sections of the GRE measure your ability to read and understand quantitative information, interpret and analyze quantitative information (including drawing inferences from data), and the ability to use mathematical methods to solve quantitative problems (using the provided on-screen calculator). There are four types of Quantitative Reasoning problems: algebra, arithmetic, geometry, and data analysis. Similar to the Verbal Reasoning sections, there are two Quantitative Reasoning sections on the GRE, and all you know before your test is that they will be presented after the Analytical Writing section.
| Section Number | Number of Questions | Time to Complete Section |
| Quantitative Reasoning #1 | 12 | 21 minutes |
| Quantitative Reasoning #2 | 15 | 26 minutes |
You will complete a total of 27 Quantitative Reasoning questions in a timeframe of 47 minutes.
This means you will complete a grand total of 54 Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning questions in the span of 88 minutes. Combined with the 30 minutes you are allotted for the Analytical Writing section, the total time of the GRE is 1 hour and 58 minutes.
In addition to the general GRE exam, there are also GRE Subject Tests available in three areas: Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. These are achievement tests that allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and skill level within a specific field of study. Subject Tests are predominantly used by admissions committees or fellowship panels as a supplement to your undergraduate records, letters of recommendation, and other required application materials. They may also be used as part of determining scholarships and financial aid.
GRE Scoring and Sending Scores to Programs
The GRE is scored as follows:
| Test Section | Score Scale |
| Analytical Writing | 0 to 6, in half-point increments |
| Verbal Reasoning (2 sections) | 130-170, in 1-point increments |
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 sections) | 130-170, in 1-point increments |
The Analytical Writing section is scored separately, which means total GRE scores can range from 260 to 340.
GRE scores are reportable for five (5) years from the date of a given exam. You may take the GRE once every 21 days, up to five (5) times within any continuous, rolling 12-month period of 365 days. This applies even if you canceled your scores on a particular exam. Test-takers typically receive their scores 8-10 days after completing the exam.
On the day of your exam, you may select up to four (4) graduate programs or fellowships to receive your GRE scores as part of your $220 test fee. If you wish to send your test scores to more programs or you decide to send scores after test day, you can order Additional Score Reports (ASRs) for an extra fee of $40 per report. Once you submit your ASR request, it cannot be changed, canceled, or refunded. Be aware that it takes approximately five (5) business days for ASR requests to be processed and sent to your chosen institutions.
The ETS also offers test-takers something called the ScoreSelect option that is included with your $220 test registration fee. With this option, you can view your scores on test day and choose one of the following:
- Not to send any scores at that point in time,
- To send only your most recent scores,
- Or, to send all your scores for all GRE tests for the past five years.
You can choose one of these options for each of the four graduate programs you send your scores to, meaning you might send all your scores to one program and only send your most recent scores to another program, giving you control over your test scores.
The GRE is intended to help you get gain admittance to the graduate program of your choice, but after you have been admitted you still have control over when and whether your score is used. If you attain an exceptionally high score, it may continue to be useful to your career as a benchmark of your aptitude, and you may wish to include it on your curriculum vitae (CV). While there are no clear cutoffs, exceptionally high scores generally fall in the 163-170 range for Verbal Reasoning and 165-170 for Quantitative Reasoning. Exceptionally high total GRE scores tend to fall within a range of 328-340, but what is considered an exceptional score will also depend on the particular program or fellowship you are applying to, as the more elite the program, the higher expectations they will have with regards to scores.
GRE vs GMAT
Students who plan on attending business school frequently wonder whether they should take the GMAT or the GRE. The answer to this question is, “It depends.” The GMAT is the standardized test used exclusively for business school, and some business schools require it for admission, but many have more recently also begun accepting GRE General Test scores for business school admission.
Because of this, ETS has developed a score comparison tool that institutions can use to compare candidates who have taken the GRE with those who have taken the GMAT. Additionally, ETS also recently commissioned a study to track and demonstrate the validity of the GRE General Test for predicting performance in MBA programs.
If you are applying to business school and have a strong background in math, logic, or quantitative work, you may be better off taking the GMAT. If, however, you have a strong background in languages and vocabulary, you may want to consider taking the GRE instead of or in addition to the GMAT. Many students applying to business programs take practice versions of both the GMAT and the GRE, then choose whichever exam they performed best on as the test they will prepare for and ultimately take officially.
As long as your preferred graduate programs accept the GRE, you may rest assured that it will be a lasting and reliable indicator of your problem-solving potential. It really is about taking the test that makes most sense to you and allows you to demonstrate your readiness for higher learning.