2016 17 GRE Guide To The Use Of Scores

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GRE

Graduate Record Examinations®

Guide to the
Use of Scores

Inside, find all the facts you need about:
• using GRE® scores appropriately
• using percentile ranks
• score interpretation and statistical information, including score data by intended
graduate major field

2016–17
www.ets.org/gre/institutions
34039

CONTENTS
The Graduate Record Examinations® Board and Committees ..................................................... 3
Overview of the GRE® Tests ............................................................................................................ 4
Guidelines for the Use of GRE® Scores .......................................................................................... 9
Reporting and Using GRE® Scores ............................................................................................... 13
Considerations in Score Interpretation........................................................................................ 15
Score Interpretation and Statistical Information ....................................................................... 17
Statistical Tables ............................................................................................................................ 20
GRE® Analytical Writing Section Score Level Descriptions ...................................................... 35

Communicating with the GRE Program
Inquiries from Educators

Inquiries from Test Takers

By Email

gretests@ets.org

gre-info@ets.org

By Phone

1-609-683-2002

1-609-771-7670

By Mail

GRE Program
Educational Testing Service
PO Box 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000

ETS® Data Manager helps GRE and TOEFL® score users access score reports
easily from their desktop.
The ETS® Data Manager is available through a secure online portal exclusively for
official GRE and TOEFL® score users. Institutions and organizations that have a
GRE or TOEFL score reporting code can use the ETS Data Manager to access score
information, test-taker data and more, free of charge. To learn more and request
access to the ETS Data Manager for your institution, visit www.ets.org/portal.

This publication can be downloaded at www.ets.org/gre/guide.
Copyright © 2016 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. ETS, the ETS logo, GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATIONS, GRE, POWERPREP,
SCORELINK, SCORESELECT, TOEFL, TOEFL IBT, TWE and ERATER are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the United States and
other countries. MEASURING THE POWER OF LEARNING is a trademark of ETS. College Board is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination
Board. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The Graduate Record Examinations® Board and Committees
The Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®)
Board was formed in 1966 as an independent
board and is affiliated with the Association of
Graduate Schools (AGS) and the Council of
Graduate Schools (CGS). The Board establishes
all policies for the GRE Program, which is
administered by Educational Testing Service
(ETS®). In addition, ETS provides information,
technical advice and professional counsel to the
Board and develops proposals to achieve the
Board’s program, research and service goals.
GRE Program activities include testing,
research, publishing and advisory services.
These services are designed to assist graduate
schools/departments and business schools in
recruiting, admissions, guidance and placement,
program evaluation, and selection of fellowship
recipients, and to assist students with their
transition to graduate education.
The GRE Board is mindful of the impact of
its testing, information, research and services on
students, institutions and graduate education,
and it recognizes its obligation to ensure that its
policies and activities serve the best interests of
the entire graduate education community. The
GRE Board strives to equalize higher education
opportunities for all students; improve the
practices, procedures and quality of graduate
education; and promote maximum utilization of
human talents and financial resources.
The GRE Board consists of 18 appointed
members: four AGS appointees, four CGS
appointees and 10 at-large appointees of the
Board. In addition, the president of CGS is an
ex-officio member of the Board. There are five
standing committees of the GRE Board: (1) the
Executive Committee, which is empowered to
make interim decisions and set the agenda for
board meetings; (2) the Research Committee,
which establishes long-range planning strategies
related to research, considers proposals for new
research, monitors the progress of all research
projects and allocates designated GRE Board
funds for research projects; (3) the Services
Committee, which monitors all GRE operating
services, maintains a close relationship with
graduate students and faculty, and identifies

long-range planning strategies involving the
development of new services; (4) the Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which
considers research proposals and projects, new
and ongoing services and long-range planning
strategies for students from underrepresented
groups; and (5) the Finance Committee, which
considers and makes recommendations for
action on all GRE budget and finance issues. A
list of GRE Board and Committee members is
available at www.ets.org/gre/greboard.
In addition, the GRE Technical Advisory
Committee reviews and discusses technical and
measurement issues related to the GRE Program,
advises ETS and the GRE Research Committee on
the issues, reviews the technical quality of GRE
research proposals and reports, and reviews the
long-range research plans for the GRE Program.

Advisory Councils
The GRE Program also obtains input from
Advisory Councils that are comprised of senior
university officials and admissions leaders. The
Advisory Councils do not directly oversee any
aspect of the GRE Program, but instead provide
insight, perspective and information related to
the higher education industry in their markets.

TOEFL® Board
In recognition of the fact that a large number of
TOEFL® test takers are potential graduate
students, a cooperative arrangement for the
operation of the program was entered into on
July 1, 1973, by ETS, the College Board and the
GRE Board. Under this arrangement, a board of
16 members from around the world advises ETS
on the policies governing the TOEFL Program.
Both the College Board and the GRE Board
appoint three members to the TOEFL Board to
represent the interests of their respective
constituencies. Other Board members represent
such groups as graduate schools of business,
two-year colleges, English language teachers
and researchers, and international high school
college counselors.

Overview of the GRE® Tests
GRE® test scores can be used by admissions or
fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate
records and other qualifications for graduatelevel study. The scores provide common
measures for comparing the qualifications of
applicants and aid in the evaluation of grades
and recommendations. GRE score recipients
may not, without the express, prior, written
consent of ETS, use GRE score data for any
other purpose, or copy, release, provide access
to or otherwise disclose GRE score data to
anyone except individuals within their particular
organization having a need to know. ETS
reserves the right to monitor access and use of
the GRE score data by all GRE score recipients.
Institutions of higher education that award
graduate degrees and non-degree-granting
organizations that award graduate fellowships
are eligible for consideration to receive a GRE
score recipient code. Institutions and organizations that do not meet either one of these
requirements are, in general, not eligible to
receive a GRE score recipient code.
ETS reserves the right, at its sole discretion,
to grant or revoke a GRE score recipient code
based on eligibility requirements or for any other
reason, and to make exceptions to its policy,
under special circumstances.
The weight to be given to GRE scores can
generally be established by relating what the
tests measure to the orientation, curriculum, and
aims of a department. Specifically, the content
validity of the tests for a graduate department or
program should be determined by reviewing
each test carefully and then making subjective
decisions as to the weight, if any, the scores on
GRE tests should receive in relation to other
admission factors. Score users should be familiar
with the responsibilities of test users outlined in
Part III of the Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, NCME,
2014).

The Verbal Reasoning measure assesses the
ability to analyze and draw conclusions from
discourse and reason from incomplete data,
understand multiple levels of meaning, such as
literal, figurative and author’s intent, and
summarize text and distinguish major from minor
points. In each test edition, there is a balance
among the passages across three different subject
matter areas: humanities, social sciences
(including business) and natural sciences. There
is an emphasis on complex reasoning skills.
The Quantitative Reasoning measure assesses
basic mathematical concepts of arithmetic,
algebra, geometry and data analysis. The measure
tests the ability to solve problems using
mathematical models, and to understand, interpret
and analyze quantitative information. There is an
emphasis on quantitative reasoning skills.
The Analytical Writing measure assesses the
ability to articulate and support complex ideas,
support ideas with relevant reasons and examples,
and examine claims and accompanying evidence.
The measure consists of two tasks which relate to
a broad range of subjects ─ from the fine arts and
humanities to the social and physical sciences.
The measure does not assess specific content
knowledge and there is no single best way to
respond.
Individuals who are interested in reviewing
the content of the General Test can download the
POWERPREP® II software free-of-charge at
www.ets.org/gre/tpresources.

Administration
The GRE General Test is administered at more
than 1,000 ETS-authorized test centers in more
than 160 countries. In most regions of the world,
the test is given on computer in a secure testing
environment and is available on a continuous
basis. In Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and Korea, the computer-delivered test is offered
one to three times per month. In areas where
computer-delivered testing is not available,
paper-delivered tests are available up to three
times per year (October 8, 2016, November 5,
2016 and February 4, 2017).

GRE® General Test
Content
The GRE General Test consists of three measures:
Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and
Analytical Writing.
4

Reasoning sections. Total testing time is
approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. Test
takers enter their answers in test books rather
than on answer sheets. A calculator is provided
at the test center for use on the Quantitative
Reasoning measure.

Computer Testing
The computer-delivered GRE General Test
contains one Analytical Writing section with
two separately timed tasks, two Verbal
Reasoning sections and two Quantitative
Reasoning sections. In addition, some questions
on the General Test are being pretested for
possible use in the future. These questions are
included in an unidentified unscored section of
the test. In other instances, other questions may
appear in identified research sections. Answers
to pretest and research questions are not used in
the calculation of scores for the test. Total
testing time is approximately 3 hours and 45
minutes.
The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures are adaptive at the section
level. This test design provides a flexible testtaking experience that allows test takers to move
freely about within any timed section, skipping
questions, changing answers, and using their
own personal test-taking strategies.
The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures each have two operational
sections. Overall, the first operational section is
of average difficulty. The second operational
section of each of the measures is administered
based on a test taker’s overall performance on
the first section of that measure.
An on-screen calculator is provided in the
Quantitative Reasoning measure to reduce the
emphasis on computation.
In the Analytical Writing section an
elementary word processor developed by ETS is
used so that individuals familiar with specific
commercial word-processing software do not
have an advantage or disadvantage. This
software contains the following functionalities:
inserting text, deleting text, cut and paste and
undoing the previous action. Tools such as a
spelling checker and grammar checker are not
available in the ETS software, in large part to
maintain fairness with those test takers who
handwrite their essays during the paperdelivered General Test.

How the Sections of the GRE General
Test are Scored
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
Sections
Scores on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures depend on performance on
the questions given and on the number of
questions answered in the time allotted.
The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures of the computer-delivered
GRE General Test are section-level adaptive.
This means the computer selects the second
section of a measure based on the performance
on the first section. Within each section, all
questions contribute equally to the final score.
For each of the two measures, a raw score is
computed. The raw score is the number of
questions answered correctly.
The raw score is converted to a scaled score
through a process known as equating. The
equating process accounts for minor variations
in difficulty among the different test editions as
well as differences in difficulty among
individuals’ tests introduced by the section-level
adaption. Thus a given scaled score for a
particular measure reflects the same level of
performance regardless of which second section
was selected and when the test was taken.
For the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures of the paper-delivered GRE
General Test, the scoring is a similar process.
First a raw score is computed for each measure.
The raw score for each measure is the number of
questions answered correctly in the two sections
for that measure. Then the raw scores are
converted to scaled scores through a process
known as equating. The equating process
accounts for minor variations in difficulty
among the different test editions, paperdelivered as well as computer-delivered. Thus, a
given scaled score for a particular measure
reflects the same level of performance regardless
of which edition of the test was taken.

Paper Testing
The paper-delivered GRE General Test contains
two Analytical Writing sections, two Verbal
Reasoning sections and two Quantitative
5

Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning scores are reported on 130 to 170
score scales, in 1-point increments.

essay-similarity-detection software and by
experienced essay readers during the scoring
process.

Analytical Writing Section

GRE® Subject Tests

For the Analytical Writing section, of the
computer-delivered GRE General Test, each
essay receives a score from a trained reader
using a six-point holistic scale. In holistic
scoring, readers are trained to assign scores on
the basis of the overall quality of an essay in
response to the assigned task. The essay is then
scored by the e-rater® scoring engine, a
computerized program developed by ETS that is
capable of identifying essay features related to
writing proficiency. If the human score and the
e-rater score closely agree, the average of the
two scores is used as the final score. If they
disagree, a second human score is obtained and
the final score is the average of the two human
scores. The resulting scores on the two essays
are then averaged and rounded to produce an
Analytical Writing score that is reported on a 06 score scale in half-point increments.
For the Analytical Writing section of the
paper-delivered GRE General Test, each essay
receives a score from two trained readers. If the
two assigned scores differ by more than one point
on the scale, the discrepancy is adjudicated by a
third reader. The resulting scores on the two
essays are then averaged and rounded to produce
an Analytical Writing score that is reported on a
0-6 score scale in half-point increments.
If an essay response is provided for only one of
the two writing tasks, the task for which no essay
response is provided will receive a score of zero.
The primary emphasis in scoring the
Analytical Writing section is on critical thinking
and analytical writing skills rather than on
grammar and mechanics. Scoring guides for
each essay task are available at
www.ets.org/gre/institution/awguides. Score
Level Descriptions that describe, for each score
level, the overall quality of analytical writing
demonstrated across both of the Analytical
Writing tasks are presented on page 35.
Test takers’ essay responses on the
Analytical Writing section are reviewed by ETS

Content
The Subject Tests are paper-delivered tests in
seven subject areas that are administered at ETSauthorized test centers worldwide. Subject Tests
measure achievement in specific subject areas
and assume undergraduate majors or extensive
background in those disciplines. Brief
descriptions of the Subject Tests follow.
Individuals who are interested in reviewing
the content of a particular Subject Test can
download a copy of the corresponding Subject
Test practice book free-of-charge at
www.ets.org/gre/subject/prepare.
Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
The test consists of approximately 170 questions
and is intended for students who are interested in
graduate programs in biochemistry, cell biology
and molecular biology, along with related
programs such as microbiology and genetics.
The questions are distributed among three
subscore areas: Biochemistry (36%), Cell
Biology (28%) and Molecular Biology and
Genetics (36%).
Biology
The test consists of approximately 190 questions
that are distributed among three subscore areas:
Cellular and Molecular Biology (33-34%),
Organismal Biology (33-34%) and Ecology and
Evolution (33-34%).
Chemistry
The test consists of approximately 130 questions
designed to cover much of the content of the
chemistry courses completed by students before
the middle of the senior collegiate year. The
questions are classified approximately as
follows: analytical chemistry (15%), inorganic
chemistry (25%), organic chemistry (30%) and
physical chemistry (30%).

Literature in English

Physics

The test consists of approximately 230 questions
on literature in English from the British Isles, the
United States and other countries. It also
contains a few questions on major works,
including the Bible, in translation. Factual
questions test a student’s knowledge of writers
typically studied in college courses. Interpretive
questions test a student’s ability to read passages
of poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction prose
perceptively; such questions may address
meaning, use of language, form and structure,
literary techniques and various aspects of style.
The questions are classified as follows: literary
analysis (40–55%), identification (15–20%),
cultural and historical contexts (20–25%),
history and theory of literary criticism (10–
15%). In addition, the literary-historical scope of
the test is as follows: continental, classical and
comparative literature through 1925 (5–10%);
British literature to 1660, including Milton (25–
30%); British literature 1660–1925 (25–35%);
American literature through 1925 (15–25%);
American, British and World literatures after
1925 (20–30%).

The test consists of approximately 100 questions,
most of which relate to the first three years of
undergraduate physics. Topics include classical
mechanics (20%), electromagnetism (18%), atomic
physics (10%), optics and wave phenomena (9%),
quantum mechanics (12%), thermodynamics and
statistical mechanics (10%), special relativity (6%)
and laboratory methods (6%). The remaining 9% of
the test covers advanced topics such as nuclear and
particle physics, condensed matter physics and
astrophysics.
Psychology
The test consists of approximately 205 questions
drawn from courses most commonly offered at
the undergraduate level. Most of the questions
are distributed between two subscore areas:
Experimental Psychology (40%), including
learning, language, memory, thinking, sensation
and perception and physiological/behavioral
neuroscience; and Social Psychology (43%),
including clinical and abnormal, lifespan
development, personality and social. The
remaining 17% of the questions test other topics,
predominately measurement and methodology,
and also history, industrial/organizational and
educational psychology. The test’s total score
includes the questions in all three categories.

Mathematics
The test consists of approximately 66 questions
and is intended to measure both the knowledge
of the content of undergraduate mathematics
courses for mathematics majors and the
mathematical abilities traditionally expected of
those who intend to seek a graduate degree in
mathematics. In addition to the usual sequence
of elementary calculus courses, the test taker
should have had mathematics-major courses in
abstract algebra, linear algebra and real analysis
that require students to demonstrate the ability to
prove theorems and create counterexamples. The
questions are classified approximately as
follows: calculus (50%), algebra (25%) and
other topics (25%). The other topics may
include: discrete mathematics and algorithmic
processes, differential equations, topology and
modern geometry, complex analysis, probability
and statistics, logic and foundations and
numerical analysis.

Administration
The Subject Tests are offered at paper-delivered
administrations up to three times a year at test
centers throughout the world (September 17, 2016,
October 29, 2016, and April 8, 2017).

How the GRE Subject Tests are Scored
The raw scores for the Subject Tests are “formula”
scores. These scores are equal to the number of
questions answered correctly minus one-fourth the
number of questions answered incorrectly.
Formula scoring is designed to discourage random
guessing.
The formula score is then converted to a
scaled score through a process known as equating.
The equating process accounts for minor
variations in difficulty among the different test
editions.

yield subscores on a 20-99 score scale, in onepoint increments, although the range for any
particular Subject Test subscore is usually
smaller. Subscores enable assessment of
strengths and weaknesses and can be used for
guidance and placement purposes.

Every Subject Test yields a total score on a
200 to 990 score scale, in 10-point increments.
Note that each of the individual test scales
occupies only a portion of the 200 to 990 score
range.
The Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular
Biology; Biology; and Psychology Tests also

Guidelines for the Use of GRE® Scores
The GRE® Board has adopted a statement regarding fair and appropriate use of GRE scores. This
statement can be found on the GRE® Program website at www.ets.org/gre/guidelines.

Policies

Introduction

In recognition of its obligation to ensure the
appropriate use of GRE scores, the GRE Board
has developed policies designed to make score
reports available only to approved users, to
encourage these score users to become
knowledgeable about the validity of the test
score uses and interpretations, to protect the
confidentiality of test takers’ scores and to
follow up on cases of possible misuse of scores.
The policies are discussed below.

These guidelines have been adopted by the
GRE® Board to provide information about the
appropriate use of GRE test scores for those who
use the scores in graduate and business school
admissions and fellowship selection processes
and for guidance and counseling for graduate
study. They are also intended to protect
applicants from unfair decisions that may result
from inappropriate uses of scores. Adherence to
the guidelines is important.
The GRE General Test and Subject Tests are
designed to assess academic knowledge and
skills relevant to graduate study. As measures
with known statistical properties and highquality technical characteristics, the scores from
these tests, when used properly, can improve
graduate admissions and fellowship selection
processes. The research section of the GRE
website includes research reports that provide
validity evidence for the use of GRE scores in
graduate admissions and fellowship selection
processes. The research reports can be found at
www.ets.org/gre/research.
Any GRE test, however, has two primary
limitations: (1) it does not and cannot measure
all the qualities that are important in predicting
success in graduate or business school study or
in confirming undergraduate achievement and
(2) it is an inexact measure; consequently, the
standard error of measurement of the difference
between test scores can serve as a reliable
indication of real differences in applicants’
academic knowledge and developed abilities.
Although limitations and cautions apply to
all admissions measures, the GRE Board has a
particular obligation to inform users of the
appropriate uses of GRE scores and to identify
and try to rectify instances of misuse. To this
end, the following policies and guidelines are
available to all GRE test takers, institutions, and
organizations that are users of GRE scores.

Score users. Undergraduate and graduate
institutions and non-degree-granting organizations
that award graduate fellowships are eligible for
consideration as score users. The GRE Board
retains the right to make exceptions to this policy
in special circumstances.
Validity. The general appropriateness of using
GRE test scores for graduate admissions,
fellowship selection and guidance and counseling
for graduate study has been established by
research studies carried out by ETS and others.
GRE scores may be appropriate for some other
purposes, but it is important for the user to
validate their use for those purposes. To assist
departments and programs in evaluating proposed
uses, these guidelines include information about
appropriate uses and uses without supporting
validity evidence.
Confidentiality. GRE scores, whether those of
an individual or aggregated for an institution, are
confidential and can be released only by
authorization of the individual or institution or
by compulsion of legal process.
Use of reportable scores. For tests taken on or
after July 1, 2016, scores are part of a test
taker’s reportable history for five years after the
test date.
For tests taken prior to July 1, 2016, scores
are part of a test taker’s reportable history for
five years after the testing year in which they
tested (July 1 – June 30). GRE scores earned

August 1, 2011, to the present are available in
test takers’ reportable GRE score history.
The five-year policy was developed to
support the validity of GRE test scores. Older
scores may not reflect an applicant’s current
ability in verbal reasoning, quantitative
reasoning, analytical writing, and critical
thinking. Applicant’s experiences over a long
period of time (more than five years) between
testing and applying to a graduate or business
program may impact their ability, and their
scores in these areas may have changed. Only
official reportable scores should be used in the
admissions and fellowship selection processes.

Encouragement of appropriate use and
investigation of reported misuse. All users of
GRE scores have an obligation to use the scores
in accordance with published GRE Board
policies and guidelines. Departments and
programs have a responsibility to ensure that all
users of GRE scores are aware of the GRE
Board score-use policies and guidelines and to
monitor the use of the scores, correcting
instances of misuse when they are identified.
The GRE Program staff is available to assist
institutions in resolving score-misuse issues.

Use of scores in aggregated form. Graduate
departments and programs are urged to report
GRE scores in ranges, such as the highest and
lowest scores of the middle 50 percent of the
admitted applicants and to avoid use of a precise
mean or median. Presenting information by score
ranges emphasizes the diversity of individual
scores for any one graduate department or
program, and also makes clear the overlap of
scores among graduate departments and programs.
Use of GRE scores in aggregated form as a
measure for ranking or rating graduate programs,
institutions, university systems or states is
strongly discouraged except when the scores are
used as one indicator among several appropriate
indicators of educational quality.

1. Use Multiple Criteria
Regardless of the decision to be made, multiple
sources of information should be used to ensure
fairness and to balance the limitations of any
single measure of knowledge, skills or abilities.
These sources may include undergraduate
grade point average, letters of recommendation,
personal statement, samples of academic work
and professional experience related to proposed
graduate study. A cut-off score (i.e., a
minimum score) should never be used as the
only criterion for denial of admission or
awarding of a fellowship.
Use of multiple criteria is particularly
important when using GRE scores to assess
the abilities of educationally disadvantaged
applicants, applicants whose primary language
is not English and applicants who are
returning to school after an extended absence.
Score users are urged to become familiar with
factors affecting score interpretation for these
groups as discussed in this publication.

Guidelines

Use of concorded scores. Concordance tables
are available at www.ets.org/gre/concordance to
help score users transition from using Verbal
Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores on
the prior 200–800 score scale to using scores on
the current 130–170 score scale, and to facilitate
the comparison of scores of individuals who
took the General Test prior to August 1, 2011
with those who take the current General Test.
The concordance tables show the relationship
between the two score scales.
There are separate tables for the Verbal
Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures.
Each of the tables provides a point estimate of the
corresponding score on the 130-170 scale for
each score on the prior 200-800 scale. Also
included are the most recent percentile ranks
associated with each new scale score.

2. Accept Only Official GRE Score Reports
The only official reports of GRE scores are
those issued by ETS and sent directly to
approved institutions and organizations
designated by the test takers and to vendors
the score recipients might designate to process
the scores they receive. Scores obtained from
other sources should not be accepted. If there
is a question about the authenticity of a score
report, the question should be referred to ETS.
ETS will verify whether an official report was
issued and the accuracy of the scores.

3. Conduct Validity Studies
Departments and programs using GRE
scores for graduate or business school
admissions, fellowship awards, and
guidance and counseling for graduate study
are encouraged to collect validity
information by conducting their own studies.
The GRE Program staff will provide advice
on the design of appropriate validation
studies without charge.

7. Avoid Decisions Based on Small Score
Differences
Small differences in GRE scores (as defined by
the standard error of measurement [SEM] for
score differences) should not be used to make
distinctions among test takers. SEMs vary by
test and are available in this publication.
8. Use the Appropriate Percentile Ranks
when Comparing Candidates
Percentile ranks are provided on score
reports and can be used to compare test
takers’ relative performance among the
measures. Percentile ranks indicate the
percent of test takers in a group who
obtained scores below a specified score. The
percentile ranks are generally based on
previous GRE test takers from a recent
three-year period.1 Percentile ranks should
be compared only if they are based on the
same reference population. Percentile ranks
are updated annually and are available at
www.ets.org/gre/percentile.

4. Maintain Confidentiality of GRE Scores
All GRE score users should be aware of the
confidential nature of the scores and agree to
maintain their confidentiality. Institutional
policies should be developed to ensure that
confidentiality is maintained. For example,
GRE scores should not be placed on
documents sent outside the institution.
5. Consider Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative
Reasoning and Analytical Writing Scores
as Three Separate and Independent
Measures
Since the level of skills in verbal reasoning,
quantitative reasoning and analytical writing
abilities required for success in graduate and
business schools varies by field or department,
Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and
Analytical Writing scores should not be
combined into a single score. To understand
factors related to combining scores, view the
GRE DataViews article A Balanced Approach
to GRE Score Use at
www.ets.org/gre/balancedapproach.

9. Do Not Compare Scores from Different
Subject Tests
Subject Test scores should be compared
only with other scores on the same Subject
Tests (for example, a 680 on the Physics
Test is not equivalent to a 680 on the
Chemistry Test). Percentile ranks should be
compared only if they are based on the same
reference population.
10. Transition to the 130-170 Verbal
Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
Score Scales
Departments and programs are encouraged,
if they have not already done so, to
transition from using Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning scores on the prior
200–800 score scale to using scores on the
current 130–170 score scale. The estimated
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning scores based on the concordance,
and the actual scores from test takers who
took the General Test on August 1, 2011 or
later can be used to facilitate the transition
and score interpretation.

6. Conduct Reviews of Subject Test Content
Although each Subject Test is developed and
updated regularly by a committee of examiners
who are actively teaching in the field, the
match between the test and the curriculum in a
given department may not be exact and may
vary over time. Departments are encouraged to
periodically review the test content description
in order to verify the appropriateness of the
content for their programs. The free practice
books can be downloaded at
www.ets.org/gre/subject/prepare.

on a three-year cohort of examinees who tested
between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015.

The percentile ranks for the General Test and
Subject Tests for the 2016-17 testing year are based

Appropriate Uses

11. Use Concordance Information to
Transition to the Current Verbal
Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
Score Scales
The concordance tables may be
appropriately used for translating an
institution’s historical guidelines for GRE
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning scores on the prior 200–800 scale
to the current 130–170 scale. Using the
tables in this way should result in the
selection of approximately the same
proportion of test takers. Note that the scores
in the concordance tables are
approximations, not equivalences. A test
taker who has a particular score on the prior
GRE scale would not necessarily obtain the
concorded score on the current scale.

Provided all applicable guidelines are adhered
to, particularly the use of multiple sources of
information in the decision-making process,
General Test and Subject Test scores are suitable
for the following uses:
1. Selection of applicants for admission to
graduate school
2. Selection of graduate fellowship applicants
for awards

3. Guidance and counseling for graduate study

Uses Without Supporting Validity
Evidence
Uses and interpretations of General Test and
Subject Test scores without supporting validity
evidence are inappropriate, including the
following:

Normally Appropriate Uses and
Uses Without Supporting Validity
Evidence

1. Requirement of a minimum score on the
General Test for conferral of a degree,
credit-by-examination, advancement to
candidacy or any noneducational purpose
2. Requirement of scores on the General Test
or Subject Tests for employment decisions,
including hiring, salary, promotion, tenure
or retention
3. Use of any measure involving a summation
of Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative
Reasoning and Analytical Writing scores or
any subset of these scores
4. Use of the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative
Reasoning or Analytical Writing measures
as an outcomes assessment

The suitability of a GRE test for a particular use
should be explicitly examined before using test
scores for that purpose. The following lists of
appropriate uses of GRE scores and identified
uses without supporting validity evidence are
based on the policies and guidelines outlined
above. The lists are meant to be illustrative, not
exhaustive, in nature. Uses other than those
listed below should be discussed in advance with
GRE Program staff to determine their
appropriateness.
If a use other than those appropriate uses
listed below is contemplated, it will be important
for the user to validate the use of scores for that
purpose. The GRE Program staff will provide
advice on the design of such validity studies free
of charge.
Subject Test scores may be considered for
the award of undergraduate credit only in the
field of the test and only when a rationale has
been developed that discusses the relationship
between GRE Subject Test scores and the
amount of credit awarded. This rationale must
be made available to users of any transcripts that
contain credit awarded in this manner.

Comments, complaints, inquiries and suggestions
about the use of GRE test scores are welcome. To
contact the GRE Program office, see the inside
front cover.

Reporting and Using GRE® Scores
Score Reporting Policies

Percentile ranks shown on score reports are
based on the performance of the current
reference group for each test regardless of when
the scores were earned. The percentile rank for
any score may vary over the years depending on
the scores of the group with which the score is
compared. Thus, when two or more applicants
are being compared, the comparison should be
made on the basis of their respective scores; if
percentile ranks are considered, they should all
be based on the most recent percentile rank
tables available at www.ets.org/gre/percentile.
Score reports for individuals who tested
prior to August 1, 2011, contain estimated
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
scores on the current 130–170 score scale in
addition to the Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning scores earned on the
prior 200–800 score scale. This concordance
information, which is also available at
www.ets.org/gre/concordance, allows score
users to compare individuals who took the
current GRE General Test with individuals who
took the GRE General Test prior to August
2011.

With the ScoreSelectSM option, test takers who
retake a GRE test can decide which GRE scores
to send to designated institutions. This option is
available for both the GRE® General Test and
the GRE® Subject Tests and can be used by
anyone with reportable scores from the last five
years. Scores for a test administration must be
reported in their entirety. Institutions receive
score reports that show the scores that test takers
selected to send to them. There are no special
notations to indicate whether or not other GRE
tests have been taken. For more information,
visit www.ets.org/gre/institutions/scoreselect.
GRE score reporting policies have been
adopted by the GRE Board to encourage the
appropriate use of GRE scores and to protect the
right of individuals to control the distribution of
their own score reports. Current GRE Board
policy states that for tests taken on or after July
1, 2016, scores are reportable for five years
following the individual’s test date. For tests
taken prior to July 1, 2016, scores are reportable
for five years following the testing year in which
the individual tested. Departments and programs
should not use scores that are older than five
years due to changes in ability that may occur
over extended periods of time.
Score reports are sent to test takers and to
institutions of higher education granting the
baccalaureate or higher degrees, to approved
graduate fellowship-granting sponsors
designated by the test takers and to vendors the
score recipients might designate to process the
scores they receive. Score reports are also
available to approved GRE score recipients in
the ETS® Data Manager (see page 2).
Score reports for the computer-delivered
GRE General Test are sent to institutions and
available in the ETS Data Manager
approximately 10–15 days after the test date.
Score reports for the paper-delivered GRE
General Test and Subject Tests are sent to
institutions and available in the ETS Data
Manager approximately six weeks after the test
date. Absences are not reported.

Revising Reported Scores
ETS routinely follows extensive review and
quality control procedures to detect and avoid
flawed questions and consequent errors in
scoring. Nonetheless, occasionally an error is
discovered after scores have been reported.
Whenever this happens, the specific
circumstances are reviewed carefully, and a
decision is made about how best to take
corrective action that is fairest to all concerned.
Revised scores reported during the current year
are reported directly to graduate schools,
business schools and graduate fellowship
sponsors as well as to students because such
scores are likely to be part of current
applications for admission. Revisions to scores
reported in the previous five years are sent to the
affected students, who may request that ETS
send the revised scores to any graduate schools
or fellowship sponsors still considering their
applications.

Confidentiality and Authenticity of
GRE Scores

score is based, aid in the interpretation of the
total score. Often the subscores can suggest
areas in which the test taker may require extra
work. A low subscore, however, may be the
result of lack of exposure to a particular
subfield. As a result, subscores should always be
reviewed in relation to the applicant’s
undergraduate history.

GRE scores are confidential and are not to be
released by an institutional recipient without the
explicit permission of the test taker. GRE scores
are not to be included in academic
transcripts. Dissemination of score records
should be kept at a minimum, and all staff who
have access to them should be explicitly advised
of the confidential nature of the scores.
To ensure the authenticity of scores, the
GRE Board urges that institutions accept
only official reports of GRE scores received
directly from ETS.
The GRE Program recognizes the right of
institutions as well as individuals to privacy with
regard to information supplied by and about
them. ETS therefore safeguards from
unauthorized disclosure all information stored in
its data or research files. Information about an
institution (identified by name) will be released
only in a manner consistent with a prior
agreement, or with the consent of the institution.

Protecting the Integrity of GRE Tests

GRE Scores and Graduate Admissions
Many factors play a role in an applicant’s
admissibility and expectation of success as a
graduate student. GRE scores are only one
element in this total picture and should be
considered along with other data. The GRE
Board believes that GRE scores should never be
the sole basis for an admissions decision and
that it is inadvisable to reject an applicant solely
on the basis of GRE scores. A cutoff score
below which every applicant is categorically
rejected without consideration of any other
information should not be used.
Scores on the GRE General Test permit
comparison of one applicant to a graduate school
or business school with other applicants for the
same program at that institution as well as with
everyone else who took the test. The GRE
Subject Tests provide an additional measure of
applicants’ preparation for graduate school. For
certain Subject Tests, subscores provide further
information for consideration. These subscores,
which reflect a test taker’s general strengths and
weaknesses in the major areas on which the total

ETS employs a three-pronged approach of
prevention, detection, and communication to
ensure the validity of test scores.
ETS has procedures in place to prevent
testing and scoring fraud. These can be seen
from the test design right through to the score
reporting process, including using the highest
standards to create and deliver test content,
establishing secure test centers, ensuring the
training of test center administrators, instituting
and enforcing test-taker rules and requirements,
and maintaining the quality of scoring and score
reporting through extensive training of GRE
raters, as well as security measures implemented
for the paper score reports.
In addition, ETS is vigilant in identifying
and taking action against fraudulent activity. All
reported incidents of fraud are taken seriously
and investigated thoroughly by the ETS Office
of Testing Integrity. Statistical analysis methods
are also used to help ensure that valid scores are
reported. The ETS Statistical Analysis team
monitors score trends by test center, country and
region and reports any suspicious anomalies to
the Office of Testing Integrity for review. In
terms of communication, ETS will continue to
inform institutions that are designated score
recipients when scores have been cancelled. In
addition, any concerns regarding test results can
be reported to ETS and will be investigated.

Cancellation of Scores at ETS
ETS strives to report scores that accurately
reflect the performance of every test taker.
Accordingly, ETS’s standards and procedures
for administering tests have two primary goals:
giving test takers equivalent opportunities to
demonstrate their abilities and preventing any

exam question or answer in chat rooms, message
boards or forums, SMS or text message, it will
result in score cancellation and/or any other
action ETS deems appropriate, including banning
test takers from future tests and prosecution to the
full extent of the law. Test takers must agree to
these terms and conditions when they register for
the test and on test day. When, for any of the
above reasons, ETS cancels a test score that has
already been reported, it notifies score recipients
that the score has been cancelled.
For additional security questions, or concerns,
please call the ETS Office of Testing Integrity at
1-800-750-6991 (United States) or
1-609-406-5430 (all other locations).

test takers from gaining an unfair advantage over
others. To promote these objectives, ETS
reserves the right to cancel any test score when,
in ETS’s judgment, a testing irregularity occurs;
there is an apparent discrepancy in a test taker’s
identification; the test taker engages in
misconduct or plagiarism, copying or
communication occurs or the score is invalid for
another reason. In addition, if ETS has
information that ETS considers sufficient to
indicate that a test taker has engaged in any
activity that affects score validity, such as having
someone else take the test for them, obtaining test
questions or answers via the Internet, email,
SMS, text messaging or postings, disclosing any

Considerations in Score Interpretation
GRE test scores should be used to supplement
the information provided in a person’s
application, such as undergraduate record and
letters of recommendation. Officials responsible
for admissions at each institution must
determine the significance of GRE scores for
each applicant. Particular attention must be paid
to the use of GRE scores for individuals
described below. Experience of departments and
programs should continue to be the best guide to
interpretation of GRE test scores in these
instances. GRE research reports on the topics
listed below can be downloaded at
www.ets.org/gre/research.

current General Test, the GRE Program advises
using the scores from the current General Test.

Test Takers from
Underrepresented Groups
GRE scores, like those on similar standardized
tests, cannot completely represent the potential of
any person, nor can they alone reflect an
individual’s chances of long-term success in an
academic environment. It should be remembered
that the GRE tests provide measures of certain
types of developed abilities and achievement,
reflecting educational and cultural experience
over a long period. Special care is required in
interpreting the GRE scores of students who
may have had educational and cultural
experiences somewhat different from those of
the traditional majority.
Research indicates that GRE scores are valid
predictors of success in graduate and business
school for all students. Research reports related to
the predictive validity of GRE test scores can be
found at www.ets.org/gre/research. Available
samples of students from underrepresented groups,
however, have been very small. Performance
information for underrepresented groups can be
found in the publication entitled A Snapshot of the
Individuals Who Took the GRE revised General
Test at www.ets.org/gre/snapshot.

Repeat Test Takers
It may be to a test-taker's advantage to take a
GRE test more than once if they do not think
their scores accurately reflect their abilities. An
analysis by ETS in 2014 revealed that when
comparing an individual’s initial score to the
subsequent score, most saw favorable gains.
Improvements were noted on all three measures
of the GRE revised General Test.
There are several ways in which graduate
departments and programs can judge multiple
scores for an individual (e.g., use most recent
score, use highest score). Whatever approach is
adopted, it should be used consistently with all
applicants. In cases where an applicant has
scores from both the prior General Test and the
15

Test Takers with Disabilities

Test Takers Who are Nonnative
English Speakers

ETS makes special testing arrangements for
individuals who have currently documented
visual, physical, hearing or learning disabilities
and are unable to take the tests under standard
conditions. The tests are administered in a
nonstandard manner chosen to minimize any
adverse effect of the individual’s disability upon
test performance and to help ensure that, insofar
as possible, the resulting scores represent his or
her educational achievement.
While many test takers with disabilities
successfully take a GRE test with appropriate
accommodations, you may want to consider
waiving the test requirement for some test takers
with disabilities and consider their application
based on other information.

Various factors complicate the interpretation of
GRE scores for international students. The GRE
tests measure skills important for graduate
education where the language of instruction is
English. Obviously, an understanding of English
is important since lack of fluency in English
may affect test performance.
ETS offers tests developed specifically for
testing the English language proficiency of
nonnative English speakers. The most widely
accepted English language proficiency test is the
Test of English as a Foreign Language,
commonly known as the TOEFL test. The
primary purpose of the TOEFL test is to
measure the English proficiency of people who
are nonnative speakers of English and want to
study at colleges and universities where English
is the language of instruction.
Score users should be aware that the writing
measure on the TOEFL iBT® test and the GRE
Analytical Writing measure are very different.
The TOEFL iBT writing measure is not
designed to measure higher levels of thinking
and analytical writing. Therefore the scores on
the two tests are not comparable. However,
because the TOEFL iBT test emphasizes both
fundamental writing skills as well as the ability
to organize and convey, in writing, information
that has been understood from spoken and
written text, the TOEFL scores can supplement
the GRE Analytical Writing score by helping
faculty determine whether a low score on the
GRE Analytical Writing measure is due to lack
of familiarity with English or lack of ability to
produce and analyze logical arguments.
A score on the TWE® test (Test of Written
English) can supplement a GRE Analytical
Writing score in a similar way. The TWE test is
administered as part of the paper-based TOEFL
test in a small number of areas that cannot
support testing on computer. The TWE
emphasizes fundamental writing skills.
Additional information regarding TOEFL
test scores is available at www.ets.org/toefl.

Essay Responses on the Analytical
Writing Section
Criteria for evaluating Analytical Writing essay
responses emphasize critical thinking skills (the
ability to reason, assemble evidence to develop a
position, and communicate complex ideas) more
heavily than the control of the fine points of
grammar or the mechanics of writing (e.g.,
spelling).
An Analytical Writing essay response
should be considered a rough first draft since
test takers do not have sufficient time to revise
their essays during the test. They also do not
have dictionaries or spell-checking or grammarchecking software available to them.
Essay responses at paper-delivered
administrations are handwritten; essay responses
at computer-delivered administrations are typed.
Typed essays often appear shorter than
handwritten essays; handwritten essays can
appear to be more heavily revised than typed
essays. GRE readers are trained to evaluate the
content of essays and to give the same score to a
handwritten essay as they would to its typed
version.

The mechanics of writing are weighed in their
ratings only to the extent that these impede clarity
of meaning. Since the Analytical Writing measure
is tapping into different skills than the Verbal
Reasoning measure, it may not be surprising that
the strength of performance of individuals whose
native language is not English differs between the
Analytical Writing measure and the Verbal
Reasoning measure. Given that graduate faculty
have indicated that analytical writing is an
important component of work in most graduate
schools, including the Analytical Writing measure
should increase the validity of the General Test.
The ability of students whose native language is
not English to write in English may be affected not
only by their language capability but also by their
prior experience with the kinds of critical writing
tasks in the test. Where educational systems do not
stress these skills, performance may not reflect the
applicant’s ability to learn these skills in a graduate
setting.

Essay topics are administered under
standardized conditions; essay scores can
provide important information above and
beyond any academic writing samples that may
be required (e.g., papers from a course). Validity
research has shown that the Analytical Writing
score is correlated with academic writing more
highly than is the personal statement.
Test takers whose native language is not
English naturally find the Analytical Writing
section more challenging, on average, than native
speakers of English. Steps have already been taken
to ensure that these performance differences are
not due to differences on the cross-cultural
accessibility of the prompts. Special fairness
reviews occur for all prompts to ensure that the
content and tasks are clear and accessible for all
groups of test takers, including students whose
native language is not English. In addition, scorers
are trained to focus on the analytical logic of the
essays more than on spelling, grammar or syntax.

Score Interpretation and Statistical Information
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning Sections of the
GRE General Test
•

Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning scores range from 130–170, in
one-point increments. If no answers are
given for a measure, an NS (No Score) is
reported for that measure. Test takers who
received an NS are excluded from the data
reported in the accompanying tables.

•

The scales for the General Test Verbal
Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
measures were developed based on the
performance of 146,504 individuals who
tested between August 1, 2011, and October
2, 2011. While this group was reasonably
representative of the GRE
population’s demographic characteristics, they
tended to be slightly more able than the
overall population, which is typical with the
launch of a new test. Therefore, when the
scales were set, the scale means were adjusted
so that the full year mean for both measures

would be equal to 150 and the standard
deviation equal to 8.75.

•

Scores from the different measures should not
be directly compared because each measure
was scaled separately. Percentile ranks can be
used to compare relative performance among
the measures. For the 2016-17 testing year,
these percentile ranks are based on the scores
of all test takers who tested between July 1,
2012, and June 30, 2015.

•

Because the Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning measures are multistage computer-adaptive tests, the reliability
and standard error of measurement are
theoretical estimates based on item response
theory. The final estimates for the reliability
and standard errors of measurement are an
average based on a large number of multistage tests that have been administered (see
Table 5).

•

The standard errors of measurement (SEM)
of score differences presented in Table 5
should be taken into account when comparing
test takers’ scores on the same measure.

Score recipients should avoid making
decisions based on small score differences.
•

•

of the prior 200–800 score scale. Now, with
the current 130–170 score scale, we can
provide more differentiation for higher
ability test takers. However, test takers who
took the prior test and received an 800 on
the Quantitative Reasoning measure,
received the highest score possible that they
were able to earn on the measure. Therefore,
this information should be considered when
making admissions decisions.

The conditional standard errors of
measurement (CSEM) presented in Table
6A reflect the variation in observed scores at
particular points on the score scale. Like the
SEM, they can be used to compute a
confidence band around a test taker’s score.
Such a band would help to determine the
score range in which the test taker’s “true”2
score probably lies. Unlike the SEM, the
CSEM takes the variation in measurement
precision across the score scale into account.
The CSEM of score differences in Table 6B
can be used to evaluate the difference
between the scores from two test takers.
Because the Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning measures were
rescaled in 2011, a concordance relationship
was estimated between the prior 200–800
score scales and current 130-170 score
scales. Score reports include a concorded
estimate on the current scale for each score
on the prior scale. Since the scale of the
prior GRE General Test has 61 points, and
the scale of the current GRE General Test
has 41 points, in some instances the
concordance tables will have more than one
score on the prior scale concorded to a
single score on the current 130–170 score
scale. In addition, concordance tables for the
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning measures are provided in this
publication and at
www.ets.org/gre/concordance to enable
users to locate a concorded estimate on the
current scale for each score on the prior
GRE score scale. Bear in mind that
concordance relationships are estimates.
They are useful in a transition period when
score scales have changed to help
institutions make admissions decisions.

•

Score users should remember that there is a
certain amount of error associated with any
estimated relationship between two tests.
The concordance tables can be used by
institutions to transform their historical
guidelines for GRE Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning scores on the prior
200–800 scale to the current 130–170 scale.
Used in this manner, the concordance tables
should help an institution identify a similar
cohort of individuals for consideration for
admission.

•

Although each GRE General Test measure
assesses different developed abilities, scores
on the measures are moderately related. The
correlation between Verbal Reasoning and
Quantitative Reasoning scores is 0.33, the
correlation between Verbal Reasoning and
Analytical Writing scores is 0.69, and the
correlation between Quantitative Reasoning
and Analytical Writing scores is 0.15.

Analytical Writing Section of the
GRE General Test

Score users should use special care in
evaluating test takers who received a
Quantitative Reasoning score at the top end

A “true” score is a score entirely free from the
errors of measurement. It is defined as the average
of the scores an individual would get over some

•

The Analytical Writing scores range from 0
to 6, in half-point increments. If no essay
response is given for both tasks, an NS (No
Score) is reported. Test takers who received
an NS are excluded from the data reported in
the tables.

•

The Analytical Writing section is designed
to measure different skills from those
assessed in the Verbal Reasoning measure.
The Analytical Writing section is

very large set of theoretically possible conditions of
testing.

GRE Subject Tests

performance based, and candidates must
organize and articulate their own ideas as
they discuss a complex issue and evaluate
the logical soundness of an argument.
•

•

Scoring guides for both writing tasks that
describe the characteristics of a typical essay
at each score level are available at
www.ets.org/gre/institution/awguides.
Score level descriptions appear on page 35
of this Guide.
The reliability of the Analytical Writing
measure is estimated at 0.84. This is similar
to the reliability for other writing measures
where the reported score is based on a test
taker’s performance on two tasks.
Reliability is influenced by the consistency
of the ratings assigned to each essay.
Overall, the two ratings used in each essay
score are in agreement about 79 percent of
the time; they differ by one score point
about 19 percent of the time; and they differ
by two or more score points about one
percent of the time.
The TOEFL® and GRE Analytical Writing
measures are quite different, by design. The
TOEFL test emphasizes rhetorical and
syntactic competence, whereas the GRE
Analytical Writing section emphasizes
critical reasoning and analytical writing
proficiency. The TOEFL iBT® writing
measure is reported as a Section Scaled
Score, rather than a 6-point scale, like the
GRE Analytical Writing measure.
Therefore, the scores on the two tests cannot
be compared. Additional information about
the scoring of the TOEFL iBT writing
measure is available at www.ets.org/toefl.

•

The range of scaled scores is from 200 to
990, in 10-point increments, although the
score range for any particular Subject Test is
usually smaller. The range of subscores is
from 20 to 99, in one-point increments,
although the range for any particular Subject
Test subscore is usually smaller.

•

Scores from different Subject Tests should
not be directly compared because each
Subject Test was scaled separately.

•

The Subject Tests are intended to have
reliabilities of at least .90 for the total test
scores. For each of the Subject Tests, the
reliability coefficient of the total scores is at
least .90, and the reliability coefficient of the
subscores is at least .80 (see Table 5).

•

The SEM of score differences should be
taken into account when comparing scores
on the same Subject Test (see Table 5). Fine
distinctions should not be made between two
scores.

•

Independent research3 indicates that Subject
Test scores are moderately predictive of
graduate first-year grade point average,
comprehensive exam scores and faculty
ratings. The Subject Tests are better
predictors of success than either the GRE
General Test or undergraduate grade point
average.

Examinations: Implications for graduate student
selection and performance. Psychological Bulletin,
127 (1), 162-181.

Kuncel, N. R., Hezlett, S. A. and Ones, D. S.
(2001). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the
predictive validity of the Graduate Record
19

Statistical Tables
Description of the Tables

below 65 on a subscore would indicate strength
or weakness in the content area associated with
that subscore. Note that the strength or weakness
could possibly reflect training that was targeted
toward specific content areas.

Tables 1A, 1B and 1C (General Test
Interpretive Data)
To help interpret scaled scores, the GRE
Program describes scores in terms of their
standing in appropriate reference groups. Tables
1A and 1B provide percentile ranks (i.e., the
percentages of test takers in a group who
obtained scores lower than a specified score) for
the GRE General Test measures. Table 1C
provides summary statistics for this reference
group for each of the three measures: scale score
means, standard deviations, number of test
takers and percent of the group by gender.
Tables 1A, 1B and 1C are based on all
individuals who tested between July 1, 2012,
and June 30, 2015.

Table 4 (Interpretive Data by Major Field)
Table 4 presents Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative
Reasoning and Analytical Writing data for
seniors and nonenrolled college graduates (who
reported earning their college degrees up to two
years prior to the test date) who stated that they
intended to do graduate work in one of
approximately 300 major fields. The score data
are summarized by broad graduate major field
categories so that applicants can be compared to
others likely to be most similar to them in
educational goals.
Table 5 (Reliability and Standard Error of
Measurement)

Tables 1D and 1E (Concordance Tables for
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative
Reasoning)

Table 5 provides reliability estimates for GRE
tests. Reliability indicates the degree to which
individual test takers would keep the same
relative standing if the test were administered
more than once to each test taker. The reliability
index ranges from zero to 1.00; a reliability
index of 1.00 indicates that there is no
measurement error in the test and therefore the
test is perfectly reliable.
Table 5 also provides data on the standard
errors of measurement (SEM) and SEM of score
differences. SEM is an index of the variation in
scores to be expected because of errors of
measurement. For a group of test takers, it is an
estimate of the average difference between
observed scores and “true” scores (i.e., what test
takers’ scores on a test would hypothetically be
if there was no measurement error).
Approximately 95 percent of test takers will
have obtained scores that are within a range
extending from two standard errors below to two
standard errors above their true scores.
The SEM of score differences is an index
used to determine whether the difference between
two scores is meaningful. Small differences in
scores may be due to measurement error and not
to real differences in the abilities of the test
takers. This index incorporates the error of

Tables 1D and 1E provide the concordance
relationships between the prior 200–800 score
scale and the current 130–170 score scale for the
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
measures of the GRE General Test. The tables
provide an estimated score on the 130-170 scale
for each score on the prior scale. Also included
are the most recent percentile ranks associated
with each score on the current scale.
Tables 2 and 3 (Subject Test Interpretative
Data)
Tables 2 and 3 present the percentile ranks for
the Subject Test total scores (Table 2) and
subscores (Table 3). The percentile ranks are
based on the percent of test takers scoring below
a particular scale score. The data are based on all
individuals who tested between July 1, 2012,
and June 30, 2015.
The percentile ranks given in Table 3 for
the Subject Test subscores may be used for
diagnostic interpretation of the total score. For
example, an individual who obtains a score of
650 on the GRE Biology Test is likely to have
subscores of 65, assuming he or she is similarly
able in the content areas measured by each
subscore. For that person, scores much above or
20

varies across the score scale. The CSEM reflects
this variation by indicating the amount of error
in a reported score at a given point on the scale.
The CSEM of score differences incorporates
the measurement error in each score. The CSEM
of score differences should be used when
comparing the scores of two individuals because
small differences in scores may not represent
real differences in the abilities of the two
individuals. To use the CSEM of score
differences, take the larger of the two values and
multiply by 1.65. Score differences exceeding
this value are likely to reflect real differences in
ability at a 90 percent confidence level.

measurement in each score being compared. To
use the SEM of score differences, multiply the
value by 1.65. Score differences exceeding this
value are likely to reflect real differences in
ability at a 90 percent confidence level.
Tables 6A and 6B (Conditional Standard
Errors of Measurement)
Tables 6A and 6B contain estimates of the
conditional standard errors of measurement
(CSEM) at selected reported scores for the
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
measures. While the SEMs presented in Table 5
address the average measurement precision of
the test, the measurement precision actually

Table 1A: Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
Interpretative Data Used on Score Reports

Table 1B: Analytical Writing Interpretative Data
Used on Score Reports

(Based on the performance of all individuals who tested between
July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015)

Percent of Test Takers Scoring Lower than
Selected Scaled Scores
Quantitative
Verbal Reasoning
Reasoning

Percent of Test Takers Scoring
Lower than Selected Score

Score
Levels
6.0

169

5.5

168

5.0

167

4.5

166

4.0

165

3.5

164

3.0

163

2.5

162

2.0

161

1.5

160

1.0

159

0.5

158

0.0

157

156

155

154

153

152

151

150

149

148

Scaled
Score
170

Analytical Writing
99

Table 1C: Performance Statistics on the
GRE General Test*
Verbal
Reasoning

Quantitative
Reasoning

Analytical
Writing

Number of
Test Takers

1,694,715

1,697,401

1,689,069

Mean

150.22

152.47

3.50

8.45

8.93

0.87

147

Standard
Deviation

146

145

144

143

142

141

140

139

138

137

136

135

134

133

132

131

Percent Women

Percent Men

*Five percent of test takers did not provide any classification with
regard to gender.

130

Table 1D: Verbal Reasoning Concordance Table
Prior Scale

Current Scale

% Rank*

800

170

Verbal Reasoning Concordance Table (continued)

Prior Scale

Current Scale

% Rank

490

152

480

152

790

170

470

151

780

170

460

151

770

170

760

170

450

150

750

169

440

149

430

149

740

169

420

148

730

168

410

147

720

168

710

167

400

146

700

166

390

146

380

145

690

165

370

144

680

165

360

143

670

164

660

164

350

143

650

163

340

142

330

141

640

162

320

140

630

162

310

139

620

161

610

160

300

138

600

160

290

137

280

135

590

159

270

134

580

158

260

133

570

158

560

157

250

132

550

156

240

131

230

130

540

156

220

130

530

155

210

130

520

154

510

154

200

130

500

153

*Based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015. Percentile ranks are updated
yearly.

Quantitative Reasoning Concordance Table (continued)

Table 1E: Quantitative Reasoning Concordance Table

Prior Scale

Current Scale

% Rank

490

143

480

143

470

142

460

142

450

141

440

141

430

141

420

140

410

140

400

140

390

139

380

139

370

138

360

138

350

138

340

137

330

137

320

136

310

136

300

136

290

135

280

135

270

134

260

134

250

133

240

133

230

132

220

132

210

131

200

131

Prior Scale

Current Scale

% Rank*

800

166

790

164

780

163

770

161

760

160

750

159

740

158

730

157

720

156

710

155

700

155

690

154

680

153

670

152

660

152

650

151

640

151

630

150

620

149

610

149

600

148

590

148

580

147

570

147

560

146

550

146

540

145

530

145

520

144

510

144

500

144

Note: Score users should use special care in evaluating test takers who received a Quantitative Reasoning score at the top end of the prior
200-800 score scale. Now, with the current 130-170 score scale, we can provide more differentiation for higher ability test takers.
However, test takers who took the prior test and received an 800 on the Quantitative Reasoning measure, received the highest score
possible that they were able to earn on the measure. Therefore, this information should be considered when making admissions decisions.
*Based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015. Percentile ranks are updated yearly.

Table 2: Subject Tests Total Score Interpretive Data Used on Score Reports
(Based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015)

880
860
840
820
800

97
94
92
89
85

95
92
88
83
79

93
90
87
84
80

83
80
77
74
70

880
860
840
820
800

780
760
740
720
700

99
99
97

81
76
70
64
57

74
68
62
56
50

99
98
96
94

77
74
69
65
60

67
63
59
55
51

96
93
88
83
76

780
760
740
720
700

680
660
640
620
600

95
92
88
84
78

51
44
38
32
27

44
38
32
27
21

90
86
80
74
68

56
51
46
42
36

47
42
37
33
28

69
61
54
47
40

680
660
640
620
600

580
560
540
520
500

70
64
55
48
40

22
18
14
11
8

16
12
8
6
3

61
53
46
39
32

31
26
21
17
13

24
19
16
11
8

33
28
23
18
14

580
560
540
520
500

480
460
440
420
400

32
24
18
13
9

6
4
3
2
1

2
1

25
20
14
10
7

9
6
4
2
1

5
3
2
1

11
8
5
4
3

480
460
440
420
400

380
360
340
320
300

5
3
1
1

2
1
1

380
360
340
320
300

4
3
2
1
1

Psychology*

Physics+

Literature in
English

99
97

Chemistry

99
99
98

93
92
90
87
85

Scaled
Score
980
960
940
920
900

Biology*

Mathematics

Biochemistry, Cell
and Molecular
Biology *

Percent of Test Takers Scoring Lower than Selected Scaled Scores

280
260
240
220
200
Number of
5,237
3,734
8,985
5,285
14,577
18,202
14,624
Test Takers
Mean
522
668
694
544
658
705
614
Standard Deviation
92
119
112
100
136
156
103
Percent Women
51
59
38
63
27
20
75
Percent Men
46
37
60
34
70
77
23
* For additional data and interpretive information about subscores for these tests, see Table 3.
+ For the Physics Test, the percent of test takers scoring lower than 990 is 94.

Scaled
Score
980
960
940
920
900

280
260
240
220
200
Number of
Test Takers
Mean
Standard Deviation
Percent Women
Percent Men

Table 3: Subject Tests Interpretive Data for Subscores
(Based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015)
Percent of Test Takers Scoring Lower than Selected Scaled Scores

99
99
98
96
93
89
83
76
70
62
54
46
38
31
24
18
12
8
4
2
1

Number of
Test Takers

99
98
97
95
92
88
83
77
70
63
55
47
38
31
24
18
12
8
4
2
1

99
99
97
96
94
91
88
85
80
75
69
63
57
51
45
39
33
27
22
17
13
10
7
4
2
1
1

99
99
97
96
94
89
85
80
74
67
58
51
41
33
25
19
13
8
4
2
1

5,237

99
99
97
96
94
92
88
85
81
76
70
65
58
52
46
40
34
28
22
18
14
10
7
5
3
2
1
1

Experimental
Psychology

Social Psychology

Psychology

Ecology and
Evolution

Organismal Biology

Cellular and
Molecular Biology

Biology

Molecular Biology
and Genetics

Cell Biology

Scaled
Score
98
96
94
92
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
52
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, Cell and
Molecular Biology

99
99
98
96
93
89
85
81
74
69
62
55
48
42
36
30
26
23
19
16
13
10
8
6
4
3
2
1

99
98
96
92
88
82
75
69
62
54
48
40
34
28
23
18
13
10
7
5
3
2
1

3,734

99
97
94
90
84
77
70
62
54
47
40
33
28
23
17
14
11
8
6
4
3
2
1
1
1

Scaled
Score
98
96
94
92
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
52
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
Number of
Test Takers

14,624

Mean

Standard Deviation

Total Score Mean

522

668

614

Total Score Mean

Standard Deviation

119

103

Standard Deviation

Department Code List for use with Table 4
The following Department Code List contains the fields of study from which examinees select their intended graduate
major. These fields are grouped into broad graduate major fields under seven branches of learning (Natural Sciences,
Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Education, Business, and Other Fields).
Table 4 (see pages 29-32) contains score data by intended graduate major field and broad graduate major field (e.g.,
aggregation of the fields of study that constitute Agriculture) and also for the following aggregated groups of broad graduate
major fields: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Education, Business,
and Other Fields. Score data presented includes number of examinees (N), means, standard deviations (S.D.), and the
percentage of students in each of seven score ranges for verbal and quantitative scaled scores. However, only the number of
examinees is reported for the broad major field “Other” or the “Other Fields” grouping (e.g., the aggregation of Fire
Protection, Homeland Security, Interdisciplinary Studies, Law, Legal Research and Professional Studies, Military
Technologies, Multidisciplinary Studies).
Note: The Natural Sciences category in the Department Code List is separated in Table 4 into Life Sciences
(Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Health and Medical Sciences) and
Physical Sciences (Chemistry; Computer and Information Sciences; Earth, Atmospheric, and Marine Sciences;
Mathematical Sciences; Physics and Astronomy; and Other).

Department & Major Field Codes
NATURAL SCIENCES
Agriculture, Natural Resources and
Conservation
Agricultural.and.Domestic.Animal.
Services............................................. 0116
Agricultural.and.Food.Products.
Processing........................................ 0117
Agricultural.Business.and..
Management..................................... 0118
Agricultural.Economics......................... 0101
Agricultural.Mechanization.................... 0119
Agricultural.Production......................... 0102
Agricultural.Public.Services.................. 0103
Agriculture,.General.............................. 0120
Agronomy............................................. 0104
Animal.Sciences.................................... 0105
Applied.Horticulture.............................. 0121
Fishing.and.Fisheries.Sciences..
and.Management.............................. 0106
Food.Science.and.Technology............... 0107
Forestry................................................ 0108
Horticulture.Business.Services............. 0109
International.Agriculture....................... 0122
Parks,.Recreation,.and.Leisure..
Facilities.Mgmt.. ............................... 0111
Parks,.Recreation,.and.Leisure..
Studies.............................................. 0123
Plant.Sciences.(Except..
Agronomy,.see.0104). ...................... 0112
Natural.Resources.and..
Conservation..................................... 0113
Natural.Resources.Management..
and.Policy......................................... 0110
Soil.Sciences........................................ 0114
Wildlife.and.Wildlands.Science..
and.Management.............................. 0115
Agriculture,.Nat.Resources,.and.
Conservation—Other......................... 0199
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Anatomical.Sciences............................. 0201
Animal.Biology...................................... 0223
Bacteriology.......................................... 0221
Biochemistry......................................... 0202
Bioinformatics....................................... 0224
Biology,.General.................................... 0203
Biomathematics.................................... 0225
Biometry............................................... 0204
Biophysics............................................ 0222
Biotechnology....................................... 0226
Botany/Plant.Biology............................. 0205
Cell/Cellular.Biology.............................. 0206
Computational.Biology.......................... 0227
Developmental.Biology......................... 0208
Ecology................................................. 0207
Entomology........................................... 0209
Evolution............................................... 0228
Genetics................................................ 0210
Marine.Biology...................................... 0211
Microbiological.Sciences...................... 0212
Molecular.Biology................................. 0229
Molecular.Medicine............................... 0230
Neurosciences...................................... 0213
Nutrition................................................ 0214
Parasitology.......................................... 0231
Pathology.............................................. 0215

Pharmacology....................................... 0216
Physiology............................................ 0217
Radiobiology......................................... 0218
Population.Biology................................ 0232
Systematics.......................................... 0233
Toxicology............................................. 0219
Zoology................................................. 0220
Biological.and.Biomedical..
Sciences—Other............................... 0299
Chemistry
Analytical.Chemistry............................. 0302
Chemical.Plastics.................................. 0307
Chemistry,.General................................ 0301
Environmental.Chemistry...................... 0308
Forensic.Chemistry............................... 0309
Inorganic.Chemistry............................. 0303
Organic.Chemistry................................ 0304
Medicinal.and.Pharmaceutical..
Chemistry. ........................................ 0305
Physical.Chemistry............................... 0306
Polymer.Chemistry............................... 0310
Theoretical.Chemistry........................... 0311
Chemistry—Other................................. 0399
Computer and Information Sciences
Computer.and.Information..
Sciences,.General. ............................ 0407
Computer.Programming....................... 0401
Computer.Science................................. 0402
Computer.Software.and..
Media.Applications............................ 0408
Computer.Systems.Analysis................. 0409
Computer.Systems.Networking..
and.Telecommunications. ................. 0410
Computer/Information..
Technology.Admin.and.Mgmt........... 0411
Data.Processing.................................... 0403
Information.Sciences/Studies............... 0404
Microcomputer.Applications................. 0405
Systems.Analysis.................................. 0406
Computer.and.Information..
Sciences—Other............................... 0499
Earth, Atmospheric, and Marine Sciences
Aquatic.Biology/Limnology................... 0509
Atmospheric.Sciences.......................... 0501
Biological.Oceanography...................... 0510
Environmental.Sciences........................ 0502
Geochemistry........................................ 0503
Geological.Sciences.............................. 0504
Geophysics.and.Seismology................. 0505
Geosciences.......................................... 0511
Hydrology............................................. 0512
Marine.Sciences.................................... 0513
Meteorology.......................................... 0507
Oceanography....................................... 0508
Paleontology......................................... 0506
Earth,.Atmospheric,.and..
Marine.Sciences—Other................... 0599
Health and Medical Sciences
Allied.Health.......................................... 0601
Alternative.and.Complementary.
Medicine............................................ 0624
Audiology.............................................. 0602
Bioethics/Medical.Ethics....................... 0625

Chiropractic.......................................... 0603
Clinical/Medical.Laboratory..
Science/Research.............................. 0626
Communication.Disorders..
Sciences.and.Services...................... 0627
Dentistry.and.Oral.Sciences.................. 0604
Dietetics.and.Clinical.Nutrition.Services...0628
Environmental.Health............................ 0605
Epidemiology........................................ 0606
Exercise.Science................................... 0629
Health.and.Medical.Administrative..
Services............................................ 0607
Immunology.......................................... 0608
Health.Sciences.................................... 0630
Health/Medical.Preparatory.Programs.... 0631
Kinesiology........................................... 0623
Medical.Sciences.................................. 0609
Medicinal.Chemistry............................. 0621
Mental.and.Social.Health.Services........ 0632
Nursing................................................. 0610
Occupational.Therapy........................... 0618
Optometry............................................. 0611
Osteopathic.Medicine............................ 0612
Pharmaceutical.Sciences...................... 0613
Physical.Therapy................................... 0619
Physician.Assistant............................... 0634
Podiatry................................................ 0614
Pre-Medicine......................................... 0615
Public.Health......................................... 0616
Rehabilitation.and.Therapy................... 0635
Speech-Language.Pathology................ 0620
Veterinary.Medicine.............................. 0617
Veterinary.Science................................ 0622
Health.and.Medical.Sciences—Other.... 0699
Mathematical Sciences
Actuarial.Science.................................. 0701
Applied.Mathematics............................ 0702
Mathematics......................................... 0703
Probability............................................. 0704
Statistics............................................... 0705
Mathematical.Sciences—Other............. 0799
Physics and Astronomy
Acoustics.............................................. 0809
Astronomy............................................ 0801
Astrophysics......................................... 0802
Atomic/Molecular.Physics.................... 0803
Condensed.Matter.and.Materials.
Physics. ............................................ 0810
Elementary.Particle.Physics.................. 0811
Nuclear.Physics.................................... 0804
Optics/Optical.Sciences........................ 0805
Physics................................................. 0808
Planetary.Astronomy.and.Science........ 0806
Plasma.and.High-Temperature.Physics.0812
Solid.State.Physics............................... 0807
Theoretical.and.Mathematical.Physics..0813
Physics.and.Astronomy—Other........... 0899
Natural Sciences—Other
Natural.Sciences,.General..................... 0901
Physical.Sciences,.General................... 0902
Science.Technologies............................ 0903
Natural.Sciences—Other...................... 0999

ENGINEERING
Engineering—Chemical
Chemical.and.Biomolecular..
Engineering....................................... 1004
Chemical.Engineering........................... 1001
Pulp.and.Paper.Production................... 1002
Wood.Science....................................... 1003
Chemical.Engineering—Other............... 1099
Engineering—Civil
Architectural.Engineering...................... 1101
Civil.Engineering................................... 1102
Construction.Engineering...................... 1104
Environmental/Environmental..
Health.Engineering............................ 1103
Geotechnical.and.Geoenvironmental.
Engineering....................................... 1105
Structural.Engineering.......................... 1106
Surveying.Engineering.......................... 1107
Transportation.and.Highway..
Engineering....................................... 1108
Water.Resources.Engineering............... 1109
Civil.Engineering—Other...................... 1199
Engineering—Electrical and Electronics
Communications.Engineering............... 1202
Computer.Engineering.......................... 1201
Computer.Hardware..
Engineering....................................... 1205
Computer.Software..
Engineering....................................... 1206
Electrical.Engineering............................ 1203
Electronics.Engineering........................ 1204
Laser.and.Optical.Engineering.............. 1207
Telecommunications..
Engineering....................................... 1208
Electrical.&.Electronics..
Engineering—Other.......................... 1299
Engineering—Industrial
Industrial.Engineering........................... 1301
Manufacturing.Engineering................... 1303
Operations.Research............................. 1302
Industrial.Engineering—Other.............. 1399
Engineering—Materials
Ceramic.Sciences.and.Engineering....... 1401
Materials.Engineering........................... 1402
Materials.Science.................................. 1403
Metallurgical.Engineering...................... 1404
Polymer/Plastics.Engineering............... 1405
Materials.Engineering—Other............... 1499
Engineering—Mechanical
Engineering.Mechanics......................... 1501
Mechanical.Engineering........................ 1502
Mechanical.Engineering—Other........... 1599
Engineering—Other
Aeronautical.Engineering...................... 1614
Aerospace.Engineering......................... 1601
Agricultural.Engineering........................ 1602
Biochemical.Engineering....................... 1615
Biomedical/Medical.Engineering........... 1603
Electromechanical.Engineering............. 1616
Engineering.Chemistry.......................... 1617
Engineering.Physics.............................. 1604
Engineering.Science.............................. 1605

Department & Major Field Codes (continued)
Forest.Engineering................................ 1618
Geological/Geophysical.Engineering..... 1606
Mining.and.Mineral.Engineering........... 1607
Naval.Architecture.and.Marine.Engineering...1608
Nuclear.Engineering.............................. 1609
Ocean.Engineering................................ 1610
Paper.Science.and.Engineering............ 1619
Petroleum.Engineering.......................... 1611
Systems.Engineering............................ 1612
Textile.Sciences.and.Engineering.......... 1613
Engineering—Other.............................. 1699
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Anthropology & Archaeology
Anthropology........................................ 1701
Archaeology.......................................... 1702
Anthropology.and.Archaeology,.Other.... 1799
Economics
Applied.Economics............................... 1803
Econometrics........................................ 1802
Economics............................................ 1801
International.Economics....................... 1804
Economics,.Other................................. 1899
Political Science
International.Relations.......................... 1901
Political.Science.and.Government........ 1902
Public.Policy.Analysis........................... 1903
Political.Science—Other....................... 1999
Psychology
Applied.Psychology.............................. 2017
Clinical.Psychology............................... 2001
Cognitive.Psychology............................ 2002
Community.Psychology........................ 2003
Comparative.Psychology...................... 2004
Counseling.Psychology......................... 2005
Developmental.and.Child.Psychology... 2006
Experimental.Psychology...................... 2007
Forensic.Psychology............................. 2018
Industrial.and.Organizational..
Psychology. ...................................... 2008
Personality.Psychology......................... 2009
Physiological.Psychology..................... 2010
Psycholinguistics.................................. 2011
Psychology,.General............................. 2016
Psychometrics...................................... 2012
Psychopharmacology............................ 2013
Quantitative.Psychology........................ 2014
Research.and.Experimental..
Psychology. ...................................... 2019
Social.Psychology................................. 2015
Psychology—Other............................... 2099
Sociology
Demography......................................... 2101
Rural.Sociology.................................... 2103
Sociology.............................................. 2102
Social and Behavioral Sciences—Other
American.Studies.................................. 2206
Adult.Development.and.Aging.............. 2208
Area,.Ethnic,.Cultural,.Gender,..
and.Group.Studies............................ 2201
Criminal.Justice/Criminology................ 2202
Geography.and.Cartography................. 2203
Gerontology.......................................... 2207
Public.Affairs........................................ 2204
Social.Sciences,.General....................... 2209
Urban.Studies/Affairs............................ 2205
Social.and.Behavioral.Sciences—.
Other................................................. 2299
ARTS AND HUMANITIES
Arts—History, Theory, and Criticism
Art.History,.Criticism,.and..
Conservation..................................... 2301
Music.History,.Literature,..
and.Theory........................................ 2302
Musicology........................................... 2303
Theatre.Literature,.History..
and.Criticism..................................... 2304
Arts—History,.Theory,..
and.Criticism—Other........................ 2399
Arts—Performance and Studio
Arts,.Entertainment,.and.Media.
Management..................................... 2401
Crafts/Craft.Design................................ 2408
Dance.................................................... 2402
Design.and.Applied.Arts....................... 2405
Drama/Theatre.Arts............................... 2403
Film/Video.and.Photographic.Arts........ 2409
Fine.and.Studio.Arts............................. 2406
Industrial.Design................................... 2407

Music.................................................... 2404
Arts—Performance.and.Studio—.
Other................................................. 2499
English Language and Literature
American.Literature.............................. 2502
Creative.Writing.................................... 2503
English.Language.and.Literature.......... 2501
English.Literature.................................. 2504
Rhetoric.and.Composition/Writing.
Studies.............................................. 2505
English.Language.and..
Literatures—Other............................ 2599
Foreign Languages and Literatures
African.Languages.and..
Literatures......................................... 2610
American.Sign.Language...................... 2611
Asiatic.Languages.and..
Literatures......................................... 2601
Celtic.Languages.and..
Literatures......................................... 2612
Classics.and.Classical.Languages..
and.Literatures.................................. 2609
Foreign.Literature.................................. 2602
French................................................... 2603
Germanic.Languages.and..
Literatures......................................... 2604
Italian.................................................... 2605
Russian................................................. 2606
Semitic.Languages................................ 2607
Spanish................................................. 2608
Iranian/Persian.Languages.and.
Literatures......................................... 2613
Modern.Greek.Language.and..
Literature. ......................................... 2614
Romance.Languages.and..
Literatures......................................... 2615
Slavic,.Baltic,.and.Albanian..
Languages.and.Lit. ........................... 2616
Foreign.Languages.and..
Literatures—Other............................ 2699
History
American.History.................................. 2701
European.History.................................. 2702
History.and.Philosophy.of..
Science.and.Technology. .................. 2703
History,.General.................................... 2704
History—Other..................................... 2799
Philosophy
Ethics.................................................... 2802
Logic..................................................... 2803
Philosophy............................................ 2804
All.Philosophy.Fields............................. 2801
Philosophy—Other............................... 2899
Arts and Humanities—Other
Classics................................................. 2901
Linguistic,.Comparative.and..
Related.Lang.Studies........................ 2902
Linguistics............................................ 2903
Religious.Studies.................................. 2904
Humanities/Humanistic.Studies............ 2905
Liberal.Arts.and.Sciences/Liberal..
Arts................................................... 2906
Arts.and.Humanities—Other................. 2999
EDUCATION
Education—Administration
Educational.Administration................... 3001
Educational.Leadership......................... 3003
Educational.Supervision....................... 3002
Education—Curriculum and Instruction
Curriculum.and.Instruction................... 3101
Education—Early Childhood
Early.Childhood.Education.and..
Teaching............................................ 3201
Kindergarten/Preschool.Education..
and.Teaching..................................... 3203
Education—Elementary
Elementary.Education.and.Teaching..... 3301
Elementary.Level.Teaching.Fields......... 3302
Education—Evaluation and Research
Educational.Evaluation.and.Research... 3407
Educational.Psychology........................ 3403
Educational.Statistics.and..
Research.Methods............................ 3401
Educational.Assessment,..
Testing,.and.Measurement................ 3402
Elementary.and.Secondary.Research... 3404
Higher.Education.Research................... 3405
Learning.Sciences................................. 3408
School.Psychology............................... 3406

Education—Higher
Educational.Policy................................. 3501
Higher.Education.................................. 3502
Higher.Education..
Administration. ................................. 3503
Education—Secondary
Secondary.Education.and.Teaching...... 3601
Secondary.Level.Teaching.Fields.......... 3602
Education—Special
Education.of.the.Gifted.and..
Talented. ........................................... 3701
Education.of.Students.with..
Specific.Disabilities........................... 3702
Educ.of.Students.with.Specific..
Learn.Disabilities. ............................. 3703
Remedial.Education.............................. 3704
Special.Education.and.Teaching............ 3705
Special.Education—Other..................... 3799
Education—Student Counseling and
Personnel Services
College.Student.Counseling.and.
Personnel.Services............................ 3801
Counselor.Education............................. 3802
School.Counseling.and..
Guidance.Services. ........................... 3803
Student.Counseling.and..
Personnel.Services—Other............... 3899
Education—Other
Adult.and.Continuing.Education............ 3901
Agricultural.Education........................... 3908
Bilingual,.Multilingual,..
and.Multicultural.Educ...................... 3902
Educational.Media................................. 3903
Education,.General................................ 3911
Junior.High/Middle.School..
Education.and.Teaching.................... 3904
Outdoor.Education................................ 3912
Physical.Education................................ 3909
Pre-Elementary.Education..................... 3905
Social.and.Philosophical..
Foundations.of.Education. ................ 3906
Teaching.English.as.a.Second..
or.Foreign.Language......................... 3907
Vocational/Technical.Education............. 3910
Education—Other................................. 3999
BUSINESS
Accounting
Accounting............................................ 4001
Taxation................................................ 4002
Auditing................................................ 4003
Banking and Finance
Banking.and.Financial.Support.Services...4101
Credit.Management............................... 4104
Finance.................................................. 4102
Financial.Planning.and.Services........... 4105
International.Finance............................. 4106
Investments.and.Securities................... 4103
Business Administration and Management
Business.Administration.and.
Management..................................... 4201
Business.Operations............................. 4214
Construction.Management.................... 4215
E-Commerce......................................... 4209
Entrepreneurship.................................. 4210
Health.Care.Administration................... 4211
Hospitality.Administration/.
Management..................................... 4208
Human.Resource.Development............. 4202
Human.Resources.Management........... 4203
Labor.and.Industrial.Relations.............. 4204
Logistics.and.Supply.Chain..
Management..................................... 4205
Manufacturing.and.Technology.
Management..................................... 4212
Operations.Management....................... 4213
Organizational.Leadership..................... 4206
Organizational.Management.................. 4207
Project.Management............................. 4216
Small.Business.Operations................... 4217
Sport.and.Fitness.
Administration/Management............. 4218
Telecommunications.Management........ 4219
Business.Administration.and.Management—
Other................................................. 4299
Business—Other
Actuarial.Science—Business................ 4306
Business/Corporate..
Communications............................... 4318
Business/Managerial.Economics.......... 4301
Business.Statistics................................ 4319

Consulting............................................. 4307
Insurance.............................................. 4308
International.Business.......................... 4302
Leadership............................................ 4309
Management.Information.Systems....... 4303
Management.Science............................ 4320
Marketing.............................................. 4304
Marketing.Management.and.Research.... 4305
Public.Policy—Business....................... 4310
Merchandizing...................................... 4321
Real.Estate............................................ 4311
Risk.Management................................. 4312
Supply.Chain.Management................... 4313
Sports.Management.............................. 4314
Strategy................................................ 4315
Statistics.and.Operational.Research..... 4316
Transportation....................................... 4317
Sales..................................................... 4322
Business—Other................................... 4399
OTHER FIELDS
Architecture and Environmental Design
Architectural.History.and.Criticism....... 4407
Architectural.Sciences.and.Technology... 4408
Architecture.......................................... 4401
City,.Urban,.Community,..
and.Regional.Planning...................... 4402
Environmental.Design........................... 4403
Interior.Architecture.............................. 4404
Landscape.Architecture........................ 4405
Urban.Design........................................ 4406
Real.Estate.Development...................... 4409
Architecture.and.Environmental..
Design—Other.................................. 4499
Communications and Journalism
Advertising............................................ 4501
Communications.and.Media.Studies.... 4507
Communications.Technologies............. 4502
Journalism............................................ 4503
Mass.Communications......................... 4508
Public.Relations.................................... 4504
Publishing............................................. 4509
Radio,.Television,.and.Digital.
Communication................................. 4505
Speech.Communication........................ 4506
Communications.and..
Journalism—Other. .......................... 4599
Family and Consumer Sciences
Apparel.and.Textiles.............................. 4604
Family.and.Consumer.Economics......... 4601
Family.and.Consumer.Sciences............ 4603
Family.Studies...................................... 4602
Foods,.Nutrition,.and.Wellness.Studies....4605
Housing.and.Human.Environments...... 4606
Human.Development............................ 4607
Human.Sciences................................... 4608
Work.and.Family.Studies...................... 4609
Family.and.Consumer.Sciences—.
Other................................................. 4699
Library and Archival Studies
Archives/Archival.Administration.......... 4702
Library.and.Information.Science........... 4701
Library.and.Archival.Studies—.
Other................................................. 4799
Public Administration
Community.Organization.and.
Advocacy........................................... 4802
Public.Administration............................ 4801
Religion and Theology
Ordained.Ministry/Rabbinate................ 4903
Philosophy.and.Religious.Studies,.
General.............................................. 4904
Religion/Religious.Studies.................... 4901
Theology.and.Religious..
Vocations.......................................... 4902
Religion.and.Theology—Other.............. 4999
Social Work
Social.Work.......................................... 5001
Youth.Services/Administration.............. 5002
Social.Work—Other.............................. 5099
Other Fields
Fire.Protection...................................... 5103
Homeland.Security................................ 5104
Interdisciplinary.Studies....................... 5101
Law....................................................... 5102
Legal.Research.and..
Professional.Studies......................... 5105
Military.Technologies............................ 5106
Multidisciplinary.Studies....................... 5107
Any.Department.Not.Listed................... 5199
Undecided............................................. 0000

Table 4: General Test Percentage Distribution of Scores Within Intended Broad Graduate Major Field
Based on Seniors and Nonenrolled College Graduates
(Based on the performance of seniors and nonenrolled college graduates* who tested between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015)
Verbal Reasoning
Mean

S.D.

130-134

135-139

140-144

145-149

150-154

155-159

160-164

165-169

170

S.D.

0.5 & 1

1.5 & 2

2.5 & 3

Mean

S.D.

20.5

8.7

2.8

0.3 203,426 151

0.5

3.7

13.0

24.4

29.4

18.3

7.6

2.5

0.6 203,425 151

0.0 0.1

1.6

22.1

54.9 19.9

1.4 203,134 3.8

0.7

3.1

12.7

23.7

27.4

21.1

8.8

2.3

0.2 10,354

151

0.2

2.4

10.1

21.9

30.7

20.6

9.3

4.0

0.8

10,355

152

0.0 0.2

2.6

28.4

50.7 16.9

1.1

10,311 3.6

0.7

Biological & Biomedical
Sciences

0.5

2.2

8.2

18.3

25.5

25.2

13.8

5.3

0.8 67,512

153

0.2

1.7

7.0

17.4

28.9

24.8

13.6

5.2

1.3

67,524

154

0.0 0.1

1.6

20.8

51.5 23.8

2.2

67,433 3.8

0.7

Health and Medical
Sciences

0.7

3.3

14.2

28.3

28.1

17.8

6.0

1.4

0.1 125,560 150

0.7

4.9

16.4

28.4

29.6

14.7

4.2

0.9

0.2 125,546 149

0.0 0.1

1.5

22.2

57.1 18.0

1.0 125,390 3.7

0.7

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

3.9

9.2

14.1

16.5

19.2

18.2

12.2

5.7

0.9 97,854

151

0.6

2.2

4.2

8.5

15.0

21.4

22.8

17.9

7.5

97,920

158

0.0 0.6

8.0

37.2

36.9 15.4

1.9

97,754 3.4

0.9

Chemistry

0.9

3.3

10.0

17.0

23.2

24.2

15.0

5.7

0.7 13,583

153

0.1

0.6

2.5

8.3

19.6

27.9

23.1

13.4

4.5

13,587

158

0.0 0.1

2.7

27.3

46.0 21.3

2.5

13,566 3.7

0.8

Computer and Information
Sciences

8.0

17.4 21.2

17.3

14.6

10.9

6.8

3.3

0.5 42,244

147

1.2

4.5

7.2

11.2

15.0

20.1

20.7

14.6

5.5

42,285

156

0.0 1.2 15.3 48.1

26.5

7.9

0.9

42,218 3.1

0.9

Earth, Atmospheric, and
Marine Sciences

0.3

1.6

6.5

16.6

25.7

27.1

15.9

5.6

0.8 11,302

154

0.1

1.0

4.8

15.1

29.0

27.0

15.0

6.4

1.7

11,307

155

0.0 0.1

1.4

21.7

51.4 23.0

2.4

11,284 3.8

0.7

Mathematical Sciences

1.1

3.9

10.8

17.3

22.5

20.3

14.8

7.8

1.5 18,246

153

0.0

0.1

0.6

2.3

6.9

16.6

27.6

30.6 15.3 18,257

163

0.0 0.1

2.7

35.9

40.3 18.4

2.6

18,218 3.6

0.8

Physics and Astronomy

0.5

2.2

6.6

11.9

19.8

25.0

21.1

11.0 1.9 12,173

156

0.0

0.1

0.5

2.4

8.9

20.5

29.6

26.6 11.4 12,178

162

0.0 0.0

2.2

27.0

44.0 23.5

3.3

12,164 3.8

0.8

Natural Sciences ─ Other

2.0

6.2

15.7

22.2

23.2

22.2

5.2

3.3

0.0

150

0.7

1.6

11.4

19.6

28.8

18.0

12.4

5.2

2.3

153

0.0 0.3

6.6

30.9

47.4 12.8

2.0

3.5

0.8

ENGINEERING

4.1

10.9 17.7

19.2

19.6

16.0

9.1

3.2

0.3 118,268 149

0.3

1.5

3.3

6.8

12.8

21.9

27.5

19.6

6.3 118,395 159

0.0 0.6

9.3

43.7

33.7 11.5

1.1 118,028 3.3

0.8

Chemical

1.4

5.1

12.5

17.7

21.6

21.4

13.9

5.7

0.7

7,994

152

0.0

0.3

1.3

3.0

9.9

21.3

33.1

24.1

7.1

7,998

161

0.0 0.2

3.8

34.7

39.8 19.2

2.4

7,978

3.6

0.8

Civil

4.1

10.5 16.7

19.9

21.3

16.8

8.2

2.4

0.2 14,797

149

0.4

1.6

3.6

7.4

15.5

25.9

26.9

14.9

3.9

14,818

158

0.0 0.7

9.2

40.6

36.3 12.2

1.0

14,757 3.3

0.8

Electrical and Electronics

5.9

14.8 21.8

20.4

18.1

11.2

5.7

1.9

0.2 43,858

147

0.4

2.1

4.3

8.1

12.8

19.7

24.6

20.5

7.5

43,893

159

0.0 0.9 13.1 52.3

27.0

6.2

0.5

43,791 3.1

0.8

Industrial

2.5

9.4

19.6

22.5

21.7

15.1

7.2

1.8

0.2

4,815

149

0.1

0.9

2.6

7.1

13.9

22.0

27.1

19.0

7.2

4,830

159

0.0 0.3

5.6

48.8

35.5

8.9

0.9

4,781

3.3

0.7

Materials

1.2

4.3

12.6

18.1

22.2

21.3

13.7

6.0

0.7

3,814

152

0.0

0.8

2.0

6.7

18.1

32.2

30.5

9.6

3,819

162

0.0 0.1

3.7

38.7

38.1 17.7

1.7

3,811

3.5

0.8

Mechanical

4.5

11.4 17.6

18.7

19.0

16.2

9.3

3.1

0.2 26,097

149

0.3

1.7

3.7

7.3

13.5

22.7

27.6

17.8

5.3

26,123

159

0.0 0.6

9.8

42.7

34.5 11.3

1.0

26,054 3.3

0.8

Other

1.7

4.8

15.9

20.7

24.0

15.7

5.9

0.5 16,893

153

0.1

0.5

1.8

4.9

12.0

24.3

31.8

19.5

5.1

16,914

160

0.0 0.3

3.9

29.6

43.1 20.7

2.4

16,856 3.7

0.8

10.7

306

170

27.2

5.5 & 6

165-169

24.7

4.5 &5

160-164

12.2

3.5 & 4

155-159

3.0

Mean

150-154

0.7

Agriculture, Natural Res. &
Conservation

145-149

LIFE SCIENCES

140-144

Analytical Writing

135-139

Quantitative Reasoning

130-134

Intended
Graduate Major

304

*Limited to those who earned their college degrees up to two years prior to the test date. Note: This table does not include summary information on the approximately 400 test takers whose response to the department code question was invalid (misgrids, blanks, ets.) or the approximately
32,800 test takers whose response was "Undecided".

S.D.

130-134

135-139

140-144

145-149

150-154

155-159

160-164

165-169

170

S.D.

0.5 & 1

1.5 & 2

2.5 & 3

Mean

S.D.

23.8

13.5

5.3

0.7 118,144 153

1.2

6.5

16.3

23.1

23.5

15.5

8.4

4.2

1.3 118,237 151

0.0 0.1

1.5

19.8

49.4 25.7

3.4 117,977 3.9

0.8

Anthropology and
Archaeology

0.1

0.6

3.8

12.6

22.2

30.3

20.9

8.3

1.1

6,531

156

0.7

5.7

17.4

27.1

15.4

5.3

1.1

0.2

6,530

149

0.0 0.0

0.6

14.3

50.3 30.8

3.9

6,526

4.0

0.7

Economics

0.9

3.0

8.0

14.7

21.4

24.2

17.4

9.1

1.4 14,351

154

0.1

0.5

1.9

5.5

13.5

22.1

26.5

21.8

8.2

14,411

160

0.0 0.1

2.0

27.8

42.3 23.6

4.2

14,310 3.8

0.8

Political Science

0.4

1.5

4.7

12.0

20.3

27.2

21.4

10.8 1.7 16,344

156

0.9

5.0

12.2

20.4

25.9

20.1

10.9

3.7

0.9

16,381

152

0.0 0.0

0.8

13.3

42.9 35.8

7.1

16,329 4.1

0.8

Psychology

0.6

2.9

10.9

21.6

26.8

23.1

10.6

3.1

0.3 67,708

152

1.3

7.4

19.4

26.8

25.1

13.7

4.8

1.3

0.2

67,703

149

0.0 0.1

1.4

19.2

52.7 24.1

2.5

67,614 3.9

0.7

Sociology

1.0

3.7

11.0

19.0

24.0

22.3

13.1

5.1

0.8

5,712

152

1.9

9.9

18.9

24.3

22.7

12.7

6.1

2.8

0.6

5,711

149

0.0 0.2

2.2

21.5

47.9 24.7

3.5

5,707

3.8

0.8

Other

1.7

5.8

15.8

23.1

22.5

17.9

9.2

3.4

0.5

7,498

150

2.7 11.2

21.8

25.0

20.3

11.2

5.0

2.1

0.7

7,501

148

0.0 0.2

3.0

27.9

47.7 19.0

2.3

7,491

3.7

0.8

ARTS AND
HUMANITIES

0.3

1.2

4.4

10.8

20.0

26.9

22.5

11.9 1.9 42,652

157

1.3

7.2

17.1

24.4

24.5

15.5

7.2

2.4

0.5

42,610

150

0.0 0.1

1.1

13.4

44.6 34.1

6.7

42,609 4.1

0.8

Arts ─ History, Theory, and
Criticism

0.1

1.1

3.5

10.9

22.7

27.6

22.0

10.9 1.2

2,933

156

1.3

6.7

16.1

24.8

23.8

16.6

7.8

2.5

0.4

2,935

150

0.0 0.0

0.8

13.8

47.0 33.3

5.2

2,932

4.1

0.7

Arts ─ Performance and
Studio

0.7

3.8

9.6

17.8

22.9

23.7

14.8

5.9

4,420

153

1.0

6.6

14.6

23.1

24.0

17.5

8.9

3.7

0.6

4,418

151

0.0 0.3

3.7

24.7

46.9 21.8

2.5

4,409

3.7

0.8

English Language and
Literature

0.2

0.8

3.2

9.3

19.8

28.4

24.1

12.4 1.8 15,160

157

1.3

8.4

19.4

25.7

24.3

13.7

5.3

1.6

0.3

15,130

149

0.0 0.0

0.7

10.9

43.2 37.6

7.6

15,145 4.2

0.8

Foreign Languages and
Literatures

0.6

2.1

6.0

12.3

19.2

25.3

20.7

11.7 2.2

3,349

156

1.0

5.7

14.1

22.2

26.7

17.7

9.0

2.9

0.6

3,349

151

0.0 0.1

1.3

17.0

44.4 31.7

5.5

3,347

4.0

0.8

History

0.2

0.7

4.2

11.4

21.8

27.7

21.7

10.7 1.5 10,289

156

1.7

8.3

20.1

26.4

24.4

12.8

5.0

1.3

0.2

10,277

148

0.0 0.0

0.7

12.4

46.4 33.9

6.5

10,282 4.1

0.8

Philosophy

0.1

0.5

1.9

5.7

12.3

24.7

29.0

20.8 5.1

3,245

160

0.4

2.8

9.1

18.8

25.1

22.1

14.2

6.0

1.6

3,247

153

0.0 0.1

0.6

8.7

37.9 40.3 12.4

3,241

4.3

0.8

Other

0.3

1.5

5.2

10.5

17.4

24.7

23.6

14.2 2.5

3,256

157

1.2

4.7

12.1

21.1

24.6

19.5

11.3

4.5

1.0

3,254

152

0.0 0.1

0.9

13.9

46.5 33.0

3,253

4.1

0.8

0.7

5.6

170

24.6

5.5 & 6

165-169

18.9

4.5 &5

160-164

9.6

3.5 & 4

155-159

2.8

Mean

150-154

0.7

145-149

SOCIAL SCIENCES

140-144

Analytical Writing

135-139

Quantitative Reasoning

130-134

Intended
Graduate Major

170

Mean

S.D.

130-134

135-139

140-144

145-149

150-154

155-159

160-164

165-169

170

Mean

S.D.

0.5 & 1

1.5 & 2

2.5 & 3

25.1

18.9

8.5

2.7

0.3 26,789

151

1.3

8.1

20.7

27.2

23.0

12.1

5.6

1.8

0.4

26,779

149

0.0 0.1

2.0

22.7

51.2 21.7

2.2

Administration

1.6

6.5

17.9

27.5

24.0

14.5

6.4

1.6

0.0

865

149

2.2 10.6

19.7

28.0

23.5

9.1

5.3

1.6

0.0

865

148

0.0 0.1

2.5

28.8

46.6 20.3

1.6

865

3.7

0.8

Curriculum and Instruction

0.3

3.8

12.7

30.3

23.6

18.5

9.6

1.3

0.0

314

151

1.3

7.0

20.1

28.3

21.0

15.9

4.5

1.9

0.0

314

149

0.0 0.0

1.6

20.1

56.9 19.2

2.2

313

3.8

0.7

Early Childhood

2.1

7.4

20.7

28.5

21.6

14.5

4.1

1.0

0.1

1,122

148

1.2 12.0

26.6

29.7

19.5

7.3

2.7

0.9

0.2

1,122

147

0.0 0.0

3.2

30.0

50.9 14.8

1.2

1,107

3.6

0.7

Elementary

1.0

4.5

15.8

27.4

26.0

17.0

6.4

1.7

0.1

2,994

150

1.0

6.7

22.0

31.6

24.9

10.5

2.8

0.3

0.1

2,993

148

0.1 0.1

2.2

22.3

54.0 19.8

1.5

2,905

3.7

0.7

Evaluation and Research

0.6

3.7

13.6

26.2

26.7

19.2

7.7

2.0

0.3

4,780

151

1.1

8.2

22.4

28.3

23.1

11.2

4.1

1.3

0.3

4,780

148

0.0 0.0

1.5

20.3

54.6 21.9

1.7

4,772

3.8

0.7

Higher

0.8

3.1

12.3

23.9

26.4

22.1

9.0

2.4

0.2

3,719

151

1.1

7.0

19.5

27.6

25.5

13.1

4.4

1.2

0.5

3,719

149

0.0 0.0

1.1

17.4

51.8 26.9

2.8

3,715

3.9

0.7

Secondary

0.3

1.6

7.2

17.0

24.6

27.2

15.5

5.8

0.8

3,279

154

0.5

4.4

13.9

23.1

25.9

18.9

10.1

2.6

0.6

3,277

151

0.0 0.0

0.9

14.8

50.4 29.4

4.5

3,272

4.0

0.7

Special

1.4

4.8

18.8

28.6

25.2

14.4

5.1

1.6

0.1

1,868

149

1.7 11.1

26.4

29.4

21.2

7.6

2.3

0.3

0.0

1,866

147

0.0 0.3

2.0

25.8

52.4 18.6

0.9

1,851

3.7

0.7

Student Counseling and
Personnel Srvcs

1.8

6.3

18.7

29.8

24.3

14.1

4.0

1.1

0.0

3,419

149

2.5 14.0

28.0

28.1

18.6

6.6

1.9

0.4

0.0

3,415

146

0.0 0.1

3.2

26.8

52.7 16.2

1.1

3,413

3.6

0.7

Other

1.1

4.3

13.7

21.9

23.5

18.8

11.7

4.4

0.5

4,429

152

1.0

5.2

14.5

23.4

22.2

15.6

11.7

5.3

1.0

4,428

151

0.0 0.2

2.7

28.6

44.8 20.7

3.0

4,419

3.7

0.8

BUSINESS

2.0

6.0

16.5

25.0

24.9

16.8

6.7

2.1

0.2 31,072

150

0.8

4.8

12.2

19.7

20.7

15.8

11.8

10.0

4.1

31,185

153

0.1 0.3

3.8

35.5

45.0 13.9

1.3

30,871 3.5

0.8

Accounting

2.7

6.4

17.4

26.6

24.6

15.3

5.3

1.5

0.1

1,749

149

0.9

3.1

12.3

23.4

27.0

16.0

9.9

5.3

2.1

1,751

152

0.1 0.8

4.9

35.9

45.9 11.6

0.7

1,726

3.4

0.8

Banking and Finance

1.7

4.8

12.9

22.3

27.0

20.2

8.4

2.5

0.2

5,019

151

0.3

1.4

3.0

6.8

10.9

13.6

20.5

28.1 15.5

5,025

161

0.1 0.4

3.5

44.7

40.7

9.8

0.9

4,984

3.4

0.7

Business Admin and
Management

1.9

6.0

16.1

24.7

25.0

16.9

6.9

2.3

0.2 13,472

150

1.1

6.1

15.1

23.8

23.9

16.0

8.5

4.6

1.1

13,559

151

0.1 0.3

3.8

30.6

47.6 16.1

1.7

13,384 3.6

0.8

Other

2.0

6.4

18.4

26.2

23.8

15.4

5.8

1.8

0.2 10,832

149

0.8

5.1

12.9

19.8

20.4

16.5

12.3

9.3

2.9

10,850

153

0.1 0.2

3.9

37.4

43.6 13.5

1.2

10,777 3.5

0.8

26,632 3.8

0.7

S.D.

165-169

25.0

Mean

160-164

14.3

5.5 & 6

155-159

4.2

4.5 &5

150-154

1.0

3.5 & 4

145-149

EDUCATION

140-144

Analytical Writing

135-139

Quantitative Reasoning

130-134

Intended
Graduate Major

S.D.

7.5

2.7

0.3 10,938

150

0.4

2.4

8.4

17.2

22.5

20.7

16.4

9.6

2.4

10,951

154

0.0 0.3

5.7

41.5

39.5 12.2

0.9

10,918 3.4

0.8

Communications and
Journalism

1.6

5.3

14.6

22.9

25.4

19.0

8.7

2.3

0.2 11,178

150

2.0 10.2

20.2

23.5

19.3

11.8

8.3

3.9

0.8

11,176

149

0.0 0.2

2.8

28.6

45.0 20.9

2.4

11,163 3.7

0.8

Family and Consumer
Sciences

1.0

5.9

16.0

28.6

25.8

16.7

4.7

1.3

0.1

1,266

149

2.0 10.7

22.2

27.4

23.9

9.9

3.0

0.8

0.2

1,266

147

0.0 0.0

2.3

25.1

51.9 19.5

1.2

1,265

3.7

0.7

Library and Archival
Sciences

0.2

0.8

3.4

11.2

19.6

29.5

23.2

10.7 1.4

1,548

157

1.2

7.4

17.1

29.2

25.9

12.8

4.8

1.2

0.3

1,547

149

0.0 0.0

1.2

14.5

49.9 31.1

3.2

1,548

4.0

0.7

Public Administration

1.0

4.2

12.3

20.6

24.2

22.8

11.0

3.6

0.4

3,801

152

1.8

8.9

20.7

23.3

21.7

11.5

7.2

4.2

0.6

3,801

149

0.0 0.2

2.3

25.2

47.7 22.1

2.6

3,793

3.8

0.8

Religion and Theology

0.4

3.5

9.2

18.9

26.0

25.1

13.9 2.5

1,786

157

0.9

5.2

14.1

21.5

27.7

19.5

8.7

2.2

0.2

1,784

151

0.0 0.0

0.7

9.8

43.0 38.2

8.3

1,785

4.2

0.8

2.5

8.2

18.9

25.4

22.0

15.4

6.0

1.4

7,880

149

5.1 19.0

28.6

24.0

15.0

6.0

1.8

0.4

0.1

7,864

145

0.0 0.3

4.3

30.3

48.4 15.3

1.4

7,914

3.6

0.8

Social Work
Other

0.2

102,034

140,477

102,088

17.0

23.1

S.D.

24.0

140,431

OTHER FIELDS

17.0

170

6.9

S.D.

1.6

Architecture and
Environmental Design

170

Mean

5.5 & 6

4.5 &5

3.5 & 4

2.5 & 3

1.5 & 2

0.5 & 1

Analytical Writing
Mean

165-169

160-164

155-159

150-154

145-149

140-144

135-139

130-134

Quantitative Reasoning
Mean

165-169

160-164

155-159

150-154

145-149

140-144

135-139

130-134

Verbal Reasoning
Intended
Graduate Major

140,217

101,831

Table 5: Reliability Estimates and Standard Errors of Measurement
for Individual Scores and Score Differences
Standard Errors of Measurement

Reliability Estimate
Score

Total
Score

Subscore

Individual Scores

Score Differences

Total
Score

Subscore

Sample
Size

Subscore

GENERAL TEST 1
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Analytical Writing

0.92
0.95
0.84

2.4
2.1
0.35

3.4
2.9
0.49

SUBJECT TESTS 2
Biochemistry (Total Score)

0.93

Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology and Genetics

Biology (Total Score)

Experimental Psychology
Social Psychology

28
2.9
3.2
2.8

0.95

Cellular and Molecular Biology
Organismal Biology
Ecology and Evolution

Chemistry
Literature in English
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology (Total Score)

20
0.86
0.82
0.87
24
0.88
0.86
0.91

403
4.1
4.5
3.9

34
3.6
3.9
3.2

403
403
403
544

5.0
5.5
4.6

544
544
544

0.94

1071

0.96

667

0.92

923

0.94

1330

0.96

1832

0.91
0.90

2.9
3.1

4.1
4.4

1832
1832

The reliability and standard errors of measurement estimates for the computer-delivered Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning
measures of the General Test are based on item response theory (IRT). The reported values are an average of all the estimates obtained for all
the multi-stage tests delivered between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015. The reliability estimates for the paper-delivered version of the measures
are very close to the ones reported for the computer-delivered version. The reliability and standard errors of measurement estimates of the
computer-delivered Analytical Writing measure are computed based on split-half analyses using the performance of all individuals who tested
between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015. Again, the reliability estimates for the paper-delivered version are very close.

The reliability estimates for the Subject Tests are computed using the Kuder-Richardson formula (20) adapted for use with formula scores. The
reported reliabilities for the total scores are the median of values obtained from the five most recent editions. The reported standard error of
measurement, sample sizes, and subscore reliability values (when applicable) are based on the test edition that provided the median reliability.

Table 6A: Conditional Standard Errors of Measurement at Selected Scores
for the GRE® General Test Measures*
Measure

130

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

170

Verbal Reasoning

4.2

3.6

2.9

2.4

2.2

2.1

2.0

1.4

Quantitative Reasoning

3.5

2.7

2.3

2.1

2.0

2.1

1.0

Table 6B: Conditional Standard Errors of Measurement of Score Differences
at Selected Scores for the GRE® General Test Measures*
Measure

130

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

170

Verbal Reasoning

5.9

5.1

4.0

3.4

3.1

3.0

2.9

2.8

2.0

Quantitative Reasoning

5.0

3.9

3.2

3.0

2.9

2.8

3.0

1.5

*The

multi-stage tests used to compute the CSEMs and CSEMs of score differences are the same as those on which
the reliability estimates in Table 5 are based. Conditional standard errors of measurement are not available for the
Analytical Writing measure.

GRE® ANALYTICAL WRITING SECTION SCORE LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS
Although the GRE Analytical Writing measure contains two discrete analytical writing tasks, a single combined score is
reported because it is more reliable than is a score for either task alone. The reported score ranges from 0 to 6, in halfpoint increments.
The statements below describe, for each score level, the overall quality of analytical writing demonstrated across both
the Issue and Argument tasks. The test assesses "analytical writing," so critical thinking skills (the ability to reason,
assemble evidence to develop a position and communicate complex ideas) are assessed along with the writer's control of
grammar and the mechanics of writing.

Scores 6 and 5.5
Sustains insightful, in-depth analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically compelling
reasons and/or highly persuasive examples; is well focused and well organized; skillfully uses sentence variety and
precise vocabulary to convey meaning effectively; demonstrates superior facility with sentence structure and usage, but
may have minor errors that do not interfere with meaning.

Scores 5 and 4.5
Provides generally thoughtful analysis of complex ideas; develops and supports main points with logically sound reasons
and/or well-chosen examples; is generally focused and well organized; uses sentence variety and vocabulary to convey
meaning clearly; demonstrates good control of sentence structure and usage, but may have minor errors that do not
interfere with meaning.

Scores 4 and 3.5
Provides competent analysis of ideas in addressing specific task directions; develops and supports main points with
relevant reasons and/or examples; is adequately organized; conveys meaning with acceptable clarity; demonstrates
satisfactory control of sentence structure and usage, but may have some errors that affect clarity.

Scores 3 and 2.5
Displays some competence in analytical writing and addressing specific task directions, although the writing is flawed in
at least one of the following ways: limited analysis or development; weak organization; weak control of sentence
structure or usage, with errors that often result in vagueness or a lack of clarity.

Scores 2 and 1.5
Displays serious weaknesses in analytical writing. The writing is seriously flawed in at least one of the following ways:
serious lack of analysis or development; unclear in addressing specific task directions; lack of organization; frequent
problems in sentence structure or usage, with errors that obscure meaning.

Scores 1 and 0.5
Displays fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing. The writing is fundamentally flawed in at least one of the
following ways: content that is extremely confusing or mostly irrelevant to the assigned tasks; little or no development;
severe and pervasive errors that result in incoherence.

Score Level 0
The examinee's analytical writing skills cannot be evaluated because the responses do not address any part of the
assigned tasks, are merely attempts to copy the assignments, are in a foreign language or display only indecipherable
text.
Score NS
The examinee produced no text whatsoever.

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