Tuesday, April 10, 2007

No change in the GRE for the fall

Dear All,

As some of you were aware, ETS had planned to launch a new GRE beginning in Fall 2007. I am writing to inform you that ETS is NOT going to launch the new GRE test after all. The test and the testing procedures will remain the same for the foreseeable future. For further details, please see below.

Cheers,

Nicole Constable

Associate Dean of Graduate Studies & Research

School of Arts & Sciences

University of Pittsburgh

5141 Sennott Square

412-624-6094

FAX: 412-624-6855

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: [CGS List] Important Announcement Regarding the Revised GRE

General Test

Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 10:14:31 -0400

From: Payne, David

Reply-To: CGS Dean's Discussion List

To:

Dear CGS Member,

I want to alert you to a news release that ETS issued this morning

announcing that we have cancelled plans to launch the revised GRE®

General Test (the news release can be viewed at www.ets.org/gre

). The decision was made in consultation with

the Executive Committee of the Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®)

Board. While ETS and the Board remain committed to improving the test,

on balance, we believe the potential risk to testing access outweighed

the benefits of immediately moving to the new format.

ETS made this decision with the best interests of test takers and score

users in mind. The primary factor underlying this decision is our

commitment to provide all test takers and score users easy access to

tests and scores, minimal change and disruption in the test process, and

the most valid predictor possible of a test taker’s preparedness for

graduate study. After careful review, we believe the current GRE General

Test remains the best means of achieving those goals.

The primary reason for canceling the launch of the revised GRE General

Test was access for test takers. During the past three months it has

become clear that we could not accommodate all anticipated fall 2007 GRE

test takers with the new Internet-based Testing (iBT) network. To meet

the need for seats, we were planning multiple contingency plans, each of

which carried potential risks. In addition, we have received input from

graduate deans, admission staff, test center staff, and the

international educational advising community over the past several

months. We took very seriously all of the concerns raised by these

groups. After much debate and evaluation, we determined that we could

not assure full, simultaneous access to the revised test for all

students worldwide.

For the testing year September 2007-June 2008, we will continue to offer

the GRE General Test in its current computer-based, continuous testing

format. For test takers and score users, nothing will change, with the

possible exception of seamless adjustments to the Analytical Writing

prompts (i.e., the writing tasks that the test takers respond to in the

Analytical Writing section). Registrations for the current GRE General

Test in India, China and Japan, which had been closed in recent weeks,

are being reopened in the next few days to accommodate application

deadlines.

We at ETS truly appreciate the feedback and support that you have given

us. ETS will rethink and redesign the strategy for addressing needs for

new test content and psychometric models for the GRE General Test, and

we will work with the GRE Board to consider future improvements that

will not impair access. We are working on a plan to guide our

activities in the future, and we will share those plans with the GRE

Board soon.

Please feel free to share this message with appropriate faculty and

staff on your campus. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate

to contact me.

Sincerely,

David G. Payne, PhD

Executive Director, GRE Program

Higher Education Division

Educational Testing Service

Rosedale Road, MS 08-L

Princeton, NJ 08541

Office: (609) 683-2014

Fax: (609) 683-2022

 

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