what is the graduate record examination gre 
the graduate record examination gre is a standardized exam used to measure one s aptitude for abstract thinking in the areas of analytical writing mathematics and vocabulary the gre is commonly used by many graduate schools in the u s and canada to determine an applicant s eligibility for the program 1the gre today is primarily offered via computer however in areas that lack the appropriate computer networks a paper based exam may be given 2understanding the graduate record examination gre the gre consists of three key sections designed to measure verbal and quantitative reasoning and critical writing skills the verbal reasoning section analyzes the test taker s ability to draw conclusions distinguish major and relevant points and understand words and sentences among other things it s structured to measure the test taker s ability to analyze and evaluate written material this section also gauges their capacity to process the information they gather from written material and see and analyze relationships between different parts of sentences in the quantitative segment the test taker s ability to solve problems is measured through the use of concepts of geometry data analysis and algebra test takers must solve problems using mathematical problems and interpret and analyze quantitative data the final section meanwhile measures the test taker s capacity for critical thinking and analytical writing in particular how well they can articulate complex ideas and provide effective support for those concepts history of the grethe gre was introduced in 1936 by a consortium of four universities and the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching in 1938 the university of wisconsin became the first public university to ask students to take the gre the educational testing service ets was created in 1947 and currently oversees gre testing 5 initially the gre test included only verbal and quantitative sections an analytics and logic section was later added but then replaced after 2002 with the analytical writing assessment 6new questions were introduced in 2007 together with fill in the blank style questions in the math section while 2008 brought style changes to the reading comprehension questions the biggest changes came in 2011 with a new design that includes the current 130 170 scoring scale doing away with particular question types and making the computer adaptive testing adjustments based on sections and not questions 7despite its ubiquity some universities have begun dropping gre requirements amidst criticism that the exam is unfair and biased and moreover does not provide a good prediction of graduate student success or further employment in academia most recently the ets announced that the shortening of the gre in 2023 instead of a 4 hour long exam test takers will receive a condensed exam that will take less than two hours to complete about half the time of the current test the shorter test removes and condenses some of the sections on the gre such as the argument essay experimental unscored section 10 minute break and the number of questions across the quant sections registration for the shorter test is now open for test dates beginning september 22 2023 8