Introduction

Over the years, we've seen all kinds of claims (and conspiracy theories) made about the way the GRE is scored. This is not helped by ETS' reluctance. In this series, we'll explain how the GRE is scored, with this first part covering some myths and facts we've seen over the years.

The GRE is getting harder

Mostly a myth

This is one of the most common claims that we see on social media, with a wide range of illogical reasons offered for why the GRE is getting harder (such as ETS trying to collect money for retakes (!)), and some more plausible (but no better in accuracy).

First, recall that the GRE is a standardised test. This means that a score, say a 162 in quant, earned in 2012 must mean the same thing as a 162 earned in 2017 or even today. This is enshrined; if this fact isn't correct, the test as a whole is faulty. So it is absolutely not true that it's "harder" to get a certain score today compared to, say, 10 years back.

Now, why do we say "mostly" a myth? Because it is true that the GRE has gotten a little harder since the GRE in its current score scale was launched in 2011. But why do we say that it cannot be harder to get a certain quant or verbal score? The reason is scaling. In an ideal world, two GRE tests will be exactly the same in difficulty, which isn't possible. So ETS automatically takes the difficulty of the tests into account when it comes to deciding what score you get (out of 170).

A perfect example is the PowerPrep 1/PP1 (free test). Because the PowerPrep test is a little easier, if you get one wrong on PP1 on quant, you drop to a 168Q. If you get one wrong on the real test, you'll usually stay at 170Q. Another way to think about this is: if you were to get say 3 wrong and end up with a 164Q on an easier test like PowerPrep, you'll get 5 wrong and still end up with a 164Q on the real test. Universities look at the 164Q, not the number of questions you got wrong.

Finally, why would a student find the test harder and return with a lower score? There are many possibilities:

• The student didn't prepare correctly (for example, they never did timed practice, or was complacent).
• The student didn't properly skip and got stuck on a question they didn't know, or was overcome with anxiety.
• The student was just unlucky and got questions in their "weak spots" or areas they are not familiar with. This is unfortunately plausible with the shorter GRE, as there are fewer questions so the impact of a certain question is greater. However, the previous scenarios are still more likely in practice.

Why can't the GRE be harder?

We've seen people ask this question when looking at their quant percentiles and wondering why over 11% of students have a 170Q. The reason can be found in the answer to the previous question - a certain scaled score must represent the same level of achievement. ETS simply cannot make it harder to get a 170Q even if they want to - as otherwise the test as a whole is invalid.

GMAT had a similar issue, which they kind of rectified by moving to GMAT Focus. I say "kind of" because while the score scale looks normal now, the curve is very unforgiving - getting the wrong question incorrect (and only that) can result in an up-to-five-point penalty. The test itself isn't any harder compared to the pre-Focus GMAT.

You can get a score above 170 on the GRE

Fact, but ETS won't tell you

So from the answer to the first question, you know that you can get a 170Q with one incorrect answer. What about if you get all correct? The answer is that your "technical score" will be around a 171 or 172 in quant, but ETS will cap it to a 170Q. This is standard practice, as again the scale cannot change without invalidating the test as a whole. Similarly, it is possible to get scores as low as 119 in quant and verbal, but ETS raises it to a 130.

On a similar note, the score is actually not an integer, but is rounded to one. This can result in "luck" cases, where you get or lose a point because this score is on the wrong/correct side of the half-point boundary. To give real examples from PowerPrep 1,

• A perfect score on the quant is a 170.57/170, which is rounded to 171, and clamped to a 170. For verbal this is 171.71/170, rounded and clamped to a 172 and 170 again.
• Getting one wrong on the verbal is a 171.08/170, rounded and clamped to a 171 and 170 respectively.
• Getting one wrong on the quant is a 168.42/170. This is rounded down to a 168/170. Notice that if the test was very slightly harder, then that would have been, say, 168.55/170, which would have been rounded up to a 169/170.
• Similarly, getting two wrong on the verbal is a 169.47/170, which is rounded down to a 169/170.
• On the contrary, getting five wrong on the verbal is a 164.69/170, which is rounded up to a 165/170.

On the real test, we've seen cases where if you get 24/27 on the quant for instance, your final score can be a 166Q (eg for a 166.49) or a 167Q (for a 166.5), which may prove to be decisive for an imperceptible change in difficulty. So the luck factor is greater.

The difficulty of the questions you get wrong impact the score

Myth

The algorithm doesn't care which questions you get wrong. It's primarily concerned with the total number of questions you got right, and the second section you're at. This is why we always recommend students to nail down the ones they know, instead of spending time on a question they are unfamiliar with.

Incorrect answers in Section 1 weigh more than Section 2

Myth

Similar to what we said for the previous claim. The only impact in Section 1 is the second section you get.

A harder Section 2 is better

Fact

This is indeed the case. We've seen a few people think that it's better to get an easier second section, but ETS knows that and will correct for this when reporting your score. Our experience is that if you do not get a hard second quant section, you will be capped at around a 159 irrespective of your overall performance, and with as few as five wrong on the whole test.

The GRE is harder in certain regions (or at-home, or due to perceived cheating)

Myth

For the same reasons we've explained above.

The official score can be different from the unofficial score

Almost always never

The unofficial score is the score you get right after the test, while the official score is the score you get with the ETS score report a few days after the test.

Now, it's true that in theory, they can change. But this is extremely rare, and we've never heard of a documented case where this has happened. Safe to say that if you need a certain score for university applications, and the unofficial score did not qualify, there is no point hoping for a different outcome.