How the GRE General Test Is Scored

The Scoring Process
How the Sections of the GRE General Test Are Scored
GRE General Test Score Scales
Additional Score Information

The Scoring Process

The processes for calculating reported scores for adaptive tests and traditional paper-and-pencil tests are similar, in that the number of questions answered correctly is adjusted according to the difficulty level of the questions on the test form. Thus, the same number of correct responses on different test forms will not necessarily result in the same reported score.

In paper-and-pencil tests, the differences in difficulty among test forms are relatively small and are adjusted through a process known as score equating. The number of questions answered is also figured into the calculation of the reported score because it limits the number that can be answered correctly.

With adaptive testing, an examinee is administered a set of questions with a difficulty level that is specifically designed to match the examinee's ability level. The mathematical process for calculating a score in this situation incorporates the statistical properties of the questions, the examinee's performance on the questions, and the number of questions that are answered.

See GRE Score-Related Test Policies for Test Takers

How the Sections of the GRE General Test Are Scored

Verbal and Quantitative Sections

Computer-Based Test:

• Verbal and Quantitative scores depend on the test taker's performance on the questions given and on the number of questions answered in the time allotted.
• Both sections are computer-adaptive, meaning that the computer selects questions based on the test taker's performance on preceding questions and on the requirements of the test design. Test design factors that influence which questions are presented include
  • the statistical characteristics (including difficulty level) of the questions already answered
  • the required variety of question types
  • the appropriate coverage of content

Paper-Based Test: Scoring of the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the paper-based General Test is a two-step process.

• First, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly.
• The raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. Equating accounts for differences in difficulty among the different test editions. Thus, a given scaled score reflects approximately the same level of ability regardless of the edition of the test that was taken.

Analytical Writing Section

Computer-Based Test:

• The primary emphasis in scoring the Analytical Writing section is on the test taker's critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics.
• The essay score is assigned by a trained reader, using a 6-point holistic scale.  The essay score is then reviewed by e-rater®, a computerized program developed by ETS, which is being used to monitor the human reader.
• If the e-rater evaluation and the human score agree, the human score is used as the final score.  If they disagree by a certain amount, a second human score is obtained, and the final score is the average of the two human scores.
• The final scores on the two essays are then averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval.
• A single score is reported for the test taker's performance on the Analytical Writing section.
• An NS (No Score) is reported if the test taker does not write a response for either of the two tasks in the Analytical Writing section. If the test taker writes an essay for only one of the two tasks, he/she receives a score of zero on the task for which no response was provided.
• During the scoring process, the test taker's essay responses on the Analytical Writing section will be reviewed by ETS essay-similarity-detection software and by experienced essay readers. See Independent Intellectual Activity.

Paper-Based Test:

• The primary emphasis in scoring the Analytical Writing section is on the test taker's critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than on grammar and mechanics.
• The essay score usually is the average of scores from two trained readers, using a 6-point holistic scale. The scale reflects the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task.
• If the two assigned scores differ by more than one point on the scale, the discrepancy is adjudicated by a third GRE reader. Otherwise, the scores from the two readings of an essay are averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval (e.g., 3.0, 3.5).
• The final scores on the two essays are then averaged and rounded up to the nearest half-point interval.
• A single score is reported for the test taker's performance on the Analytical Writing section.
• An NS (No Score) is reported if the test taker does not write a response for either of the two tasks in the Analytical Writing section. If the test taker writes an essay for only one of the two tasks, he/she receives a score of zero on the task for which no response was provided.
• During the scoring process, the test taker's essay responses on the Analytical Writing section will be reviewed by ETS essay-similarity-detection software and by experienced essay readers. See Independent Intellectual Activity.
  

GRE General Test Score Scales

Three scores are reported on the General Test:

• a Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
• a Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 200-800 score scale, in 10-point increments
• an Analytical Writing score reported on a 0 to 6 score scale in half-point increments.

Any section in which the test taker answers no questions at all will be reported as a No Score (NS).

Additional Score Information

For more details regarding GRE scores and scoring, read the GRE Guide to the Use of Scores (PDF). For score interpretive data, visit the Educators Download Library.