Editing Graduate Record Examinations (section)

{{Short description|Standardized tests}}
{{redirect|GRE}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox examination
| name                = Record Examination: General Test
| image_name          = GRE logo 2024.svg
| image_size          =
| image_alt           =
| caption             = Logo used since 2024
| acronym             = GRE
| type                = Computer-based or paper-based standardized test
| test_admin          = [[Educational Testing Service]]
| year_started        = {{Start date and age|1936}}
| year_terminated     =
| skills_tested       = Analytical writing, quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning.
| purpose             = Admissions to master's and doctoral degree programs in various universities
| duration            = 1 hour and 58 minutes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/prepare/test-structure.html|title=GRE General Test Structure}}</ref>
| score_range         = Analytical writing: 0.0 to 6.0 (in 0.5-point increments), <br /> Verbal reasoning: 130 to 170 (in 1-point increments), <br /> Quantitative reasoning: 130 to 170 (in 1-point increments).
| score_validity      = 5 years
| offered             = Computer-based test: Multiple times a year (depends on availability of the test center) <br />
Paper-based test: Up to 3 times a year in October, November and February<ref name="ets.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/|title=GRE Revised General Test: About the GRE revised General Test|website=Ets.org}}</ref>
| attempt_restriction = Computer-based test: Can be taken only once after 21 days from the day of exam in every year. Maximum of 5 times a year. (Applies even if candidate cancels scores on a test taken previously.)<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/centers_dates?WT.ac=grehome_grecenterdates_130807|title=GRE Revised General Test: Test Centers and Dates|website=Ets.org}}</ref> <br />
Paper-based test: Can be taken as often as it is offered.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
| regions             = About 1,000 test centers in more than 160 countries<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/register/|title=Registration, Test Centers and Dates|website=Ets.org}}</ref>
| language            = English
| test_takers         = {{decrease}} 319,101 (T.Y. 2021-22)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ets.org/pdfs/gre/snapshot.pdf|title=A Snapshot of the Individuals Who Took GRE General Test}}</ref>
| prerequisite = No official prerequisite. Intended for bachelor's degree graduates and undergraduate students who are about to graduate. Fluency in English assumed.
| fee                 = US$ 205<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/fees/|title=GRE Revised General Test: Fees|website=Ets.org|access-date=December 28, 2013|archive-date=February 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223034813/http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/fees|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
(Limited offers of "Fee Reduction Program" for U.S. citizens or resident aliens who demonstrate financial need, and for national programs in United States that work with underrepresented groups.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/fees/reductions/|title=GRE Revised General Test: Fee Reduction Program|website=Ets.org}}</ref>)
| score_users         = Most graduate schools in USA, and in a few other countries
| qualification_rate  =
| free_label          =
| free                =
| website             = {{URL|www.ets.org/gre}}
| footnotes           =
}}

The '''Graduate Record Examinations''' ('''GRE''') is a [[standardized test]] that is part of the admissions process for many [[graduate school]]s<ref>[http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/gre_0910_online_bulletin.pdf ''GRE Registration and Information Bulletin''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228213153/http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/gre_0910_online_bulletin.pdf |date=December 28, 2009 }}</ref> in the United States and Canada<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://studyabroad.shiksha.com/exams/ielts/tests-that-make-you-eligible-for-canadian-universities|title=Tests that make you eligible for Canadian universities {{!}} shiksha.com|website=studyabroad.shiksha.com|access-date=2019-09-18}}</ref> and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by [[Educational Testing Service]] (ETS).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L7CZ9n7TH1wtX2NDndzLxl9rQ6HFLLNDrKj2595y7hTz6NzKnCTX!289183844?docId=5006090031|title='Alternative Admissions and Scholarship Selection Measures in Higher Education. (Assessment in Action)' by Sedlacek, William E. - Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, Vol. 35, Issue 4, January 2003|website=|access-date=August 29, 2017|archive-date=June 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627005204/http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L7CZ9n7TH1wtX2NDndzLxl9rQ6HFLLNDrKj2595y7hTz6NzKnCTX!289183844?docId=5006090031|url-status=dead}}</ref> The test was established in 1936 by the [[Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching]].<ref name="wilkesbarremisericordiasophomores"/>

According to ETS, the GRE aims to measure [[verbal reasoning]], [[Mathematics|quantitative reasoning]], analytical writing, and [[critical thinking]] skills that have been acquired over a long period of learning. The content of the GRE consists of certain specific data analysis or interpretation, arguments and reasoning, [[algebra]], geometry, [[arithmetic]], and vocabulary sections. The GRE General Test is offered as a computer-based exam administered at testing centers and institution owned or authorized by [[Prometric]]. In the graduate school admissions process, the level of emphasis that is placed upon GRE scores varies widely among schools and departments. The importance of a GRE score can range from being a mere admission formality to an important selection factor.

The GRE was significantly overhauled in August 2011, resulting in an exam that is adaptive on a section-by-section basis, rather than question by question, so that the performance on the first verbal and math sections determines the difficulty of the second sections presented (excluding the experimental section). Overall, the test retained the sections and many of the question types from its predecessor, but the scoring scale was changed to a 130 to 170 scale (from a 200 to 800 scale).<ref name="ets.org1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/|title=GRE Revised General Test: Scores|website=Ets.org}}</ref>

The cost to take the test is [[US$]]205,<ref name="ReferenceB"/> although ETS will reduce the fee under certain circumstances.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> It also provides financial aid to GRE applicants who prove economic hardship.<ref>MBA Channel: [http://www.mba-channel.com/channel/article/gre-wharton/ "GRE:Wharton joins the club"] 31 July 2009</ref> ETS does not release scores that are older than five years, although graduate program policies on the acceptance of scores older than five years will vary.

Once almost universally required for admission to [[Ph.D.]] science programs in the U.S., its use for that purpose has fallen precipitously.<ref name="drop-in-use">{{cite web|title=GRExit gains momentum as Ph.D. programs drop exam requirement|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/gre-exit-gains-momentum-ph-d-programs-drop-exam-requirement-amid-pandemic|orig-date=November 29, 2022|access-date=December 2, 2022|work=[[Science (journal)|Science]]}}</ref>