All the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) aspirants, here is some good news for you. The GRE Test duration has been cut down to two hours. On June 1, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced that beginning this September, the GRE General Test will take less than two hours to complete – roughly half the time of the current test.
The press release put out by ETS read, "This makes the GRE General Test the shortest and most efficient test among top graduate, business, and law school admissions. The shorter GRE test will continue to provide test takers and institutions with the same valid and reliable scores they have always counted on from ETS."
Further, ETS disclosed that registration for the shorter test is now open for test dates beginning September 22, 2023. As per the note, the changes to the test are the removal of the “Analyze an Argument” task in the Analytical Writing section, reduced number of questions in the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections and the removal of the unscored section.
Adding to this, the test takers can expect to receive their official scores much faster, in just eight to ten days. "These changes mark the first of several planned future updates to the GRE General Test, all of which are intended to provide test takers with a better experience that values their time and reduces anxiety and fatigue," the notice added.
Speaking on this, ETS CEO Amit Sevak said, “The changes we’re announcing today underscore the emphasis we place on keeping our customers at the center of all that we do." Further “As we continue to introduce product innovations, we’re committed to balancing two things – maintaining rigor and validity, while improving the test-taker experience,” he added.
What is GRE?
GRE General Test is the world’s most widely used test for admission to graduate and professional programmes, including business and law. It securely assesses the verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that are essential for success in most graduate-level programmes. These scores are an essential part of holistic admissions.
