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The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is administered by Education Testing Service (ETS) and is primarily a multiple-choice test that graduate schools use for admission of students into their graduate programs. ETS administers GRE programs on behalf of the Graduate Record Examinations Board and the Council of Graduate Schools. The GRE Program also assists students in their transition to graduate education through a variety of services and publications. The Graduate Record Examination Program also offers 8 Subject Tests, each of which measures achievements in specific fields. The tests offered include:
Because of the high correlation between high GRE scores and success in graduate school, many schools require that the applicants take the GRE General Test. (They may also require the applicant to take the appropriate GRE Subject Test.)
Many graduate schools in English-speaking countries (especially in the U.S.A.) require GRE test results as part of the application procedure. The GRE test is a standardised test designed to measure the abilities of all graduates in tasks of general academic nature, regardless of their fields of specialization. It is not an intelligence test per-se but GRE results, especially on the verbal section, do correlate with intelligence test results. The GRE is supposed to measure the extent to which undergraduate education has developed an individual's verbal and quantitative skills in abstract thinking. It tests for argumentation skills in topics of general interest.
Currently, the GRE is primarily computer-based, unlike the SAT. It is a computer-adaptive test: the questions a testee is presented are affected by the answers he gave to preceding problems. The general test has sections testing verbal, quantitative (mathematical), and analytical writing abilities. The verbal and quantitative sections consist of multiple choice questions. Like the SAT, these sections are scored on a 200-800 point scale in increments of 10. The analytical writing section requires the testee to write two short essays: one presenting their perspective on a statement, and the other analyzing and pointing out flaws in an argument. Each essay is scored by at least two readers on a six-point holistic scale, and the average of the scores is taken.
There are also eight GRE Subject Tests testing knowledge in the specific areas of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. Subject tests typically have 70-100 multiple choice questions that must be answered in 170 minutes.
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