The General Test
measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The test consists of three scored sections.
Verbal
: 30-minute section (30 questions) - The verbal measure tests your ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, analyze relationships among component parts of sentences,
and recognize relationships between words and concepts. Because students have wide-ranging backgrounds, interests, and skills, the verbal sections of the General Test use questions from diverse areas of experience. The
areas tested range from the activities of daily life to broad categories of academic interest such as the sciences, social studies, and the humanities.
Quantitative: 45-minute section (28 questions) - The
quantitative measure tests your basic mathematical skills and your understanding of elementary mathematical concepts, as well as your ability to reason quantitatively and solve problems in a quantitative setting. The
content areas included in the quantitative sections of the test are arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. These are content areas usually studied in high school.
Analytical: 60-minute section (35
questions) - The analytical measure tests your ability to understand structured sets of relationships, deduce new information from sets of relationships, analyze and evaluate arguments, identify central issues and
hypotheses, draw sound inferences, and identify plausible causal explanations. Questions in the analytical section measure reasoning skills developed in virtually all fields of study. No formal training in logic or
methods of analysis is needed to do well in these sections.
Modified Versions of Questions
The test you take may include questions that are modified versions of published questions or of questions
you have already seen on an earlier section of the test. Some modifications are substantial; others are less apparent. Thus, even if a question appears to be similar to a question you have already seen, it may in fact
be a different question and may also have a different correct answer. You can be assured of doing your best on the test you take by paying careful attention to the wording of each question as it appears in your test.
The GRE Program is currently investigating the feasibility of reusing questions that have been published in GRE practice materials. As part of that investigation, you may see questions from these materials on a test you
take.
How Does the Computer-Based General Test Work?
At the start of the test, you are presented with test questions of middle difficulty. As you answer each question, the
computer scores that question and uses that information, as well as your responses to any preceding questions and information about the test design, to determine which question is presented next. As long as you respond
correctly to each question, questions of increased difficulty typically will be presented. When you respond incorrectly, the computer typically will present you with questions of lesser difficulty. Your next question
will be the one that best reflects both your previous performance and the requirements of the test design. This means that different test takers will be given different questions.
Because the computer scores each
question before selecting the next one, you must answer each question when it is presented. For this reason, once you answer a question and move on to another, you cannot go back and change your answer. The computer has
already incorporated both your answer and requirements of the test design into its selection of the next question for you.
Each computer-based test section meets preestablished specifications, including the types of
questions asked and the subject matter presented. The statistical characteristics of the questions answered correctly and incorrectly, including the difficulty levels, are taken into account in the calculation of the
score. Therefore, it is appropriate to compare scores of different test takers even though they received different questions.
ETS has conducted research studies indicating that computer-based General Test Scores are
comparable to scores earned on the paper-based General Test.
