RELATED LINKS Click these links to view sample questions for the
new GRE on the ETS Web site.
Verbal Reasoning Sample Questions
Quantitative Reasoning Sample Questions
Analytical Sample Writing Topics
The GRE and the LSAT are both undergoing substantial changes in
the next year, which include an increased length for the GRE, as
well as content modifications to both tests.
Starting in September 2007, the GRE will be extended from two
and a half hours to about four hours and will contain substance and
administrative changes; in June 2007, students taking the LSAT will
see modified reading comprehension and writing sections.
The content of the GRE was changed based on feedback from
graduate schools and in order to make the test a more accurate
predictor of success in graduate school, said Susan Kaplan,
director of graduate programs at Kaplan Test Prep.
“The content (of the new GRE) is more challenging and at a
higher level,” Kaplan said. “It requires higher
cognitive skills and it won’t be quite as flexible as to when
to take the exam.”
Educational Testing Services is increasing the number of
questions dealing with real-life scenarios and data interpretation
and decreasing the number of geometry questions, according to its
Web site. Students will also be able to use an on-screen calculator
on portions of the test, which is not currently permitted.
“Applying real-life concepts is a good idea,” said
Hye Young, a second-year Asian American studies student who plans
to take the GRE next fall.
But she added that she believes this can be done without
increasing the length of the exam.
In the verbal section, ETS plans to eliminate analogy and
antonym questions. There will also be less emphasis on vocabulary
and a greater focus on broader reading comprehension and complex
sentence completion, Kaplan said.
For the analytical writing section, ETS plans to use prompts
that do not rely on memorized materials.
The use of technology will also be expanded with the new
GRE.
Test takers currently do the test on computers, but have the
option of taking it on paper. But with the new GRE, they will be
required to use computers.
Though students were not opposed to all of the changes to the
GRE, some were concerned about the length and the requirement to
take the test on the computer.
“I prefer the paper-based test because I never grew up
taking standardized tests on the computer,” Young said.
“Plus four hours of sitting in front of a computer taking a
test will be hard. Some of the changes are good, but I don’t
think the time and technology (changes) will benefit me.”
The test will also be offered 30 times a year, instead of
year-round.
The Law School Admission Council, which administers the LSAT, is
making two changes to its test as well, in an attempt to better
reflect how a student will do in law school, said Steven Marietti,
director of pre-law programs at Kaplan Test Prep.
The structure and length of the test will stay the same and will
still include logical reasoning, reading comprehension, logic games
and writing sample sections.
Marietti also said the changes will not dramatically affect
students’ overall scores.
Within the reading comprehension section, there will now be a
comparative reading component, according to the LSAC Web site. The
comparative reading questions will be based on two passages, in
which test takers will answer questions about them individually and
how they relate to each other.
The new comparative reading questions tend to take more time to
work through than one passage because it requires the taker to
switch gears, Marietti said.
Alex Kim, a third-year political science student who plans to
take the LSAT, said he is concerned about the changes to the
test.
“I think it will be harder. I don’t think it will be
a good idea,” Kim said. “If you have a long argument,
you just need to understand the article and think about it, but if
you’re comparing the arguments, it’s harder.”
But David Nichols, a third-year political science student who
also plans to take the test, said he believes the changes will
improve the LSAT.
“I think it’s going to be really good because
it’s more of critical thinking and it’s more of how you
think in college,” Nichols said.
The LSAC is also changing the system in which it assigns writing
prompts. Currently, test takers are assigned either a decision or
an argument prompt, but starting next fall, they will be assigned
only a decision prompt, according to the LSAC Web site.
The writing prompts are not graded but are sent to law schools,
which look at them at their discretion. According to a 2006 LSAC
survey of 157 U.S. and Canadian law schools, 35 percent at least
frequently look at the writing prompts.