GRE Grading System

GRE Grading System: For admission to graduate programs, standardised tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are administered. Adaptive testing is used in the GRE format for both the quantitative and verbal sections. According to your performance in the first section, you will be given a difficulty level for the second section/question. Your overall GRE score is impacted by these high scores for challenging sections and questions. If your goal is to score well on the GRE, you should be aware that the marking scheme for the general and subject formats varies. 

The GRE grading system consists of three primary components: 

• Verbal Reasoning: Points are awarded in one-point increments ranging from 130 to 170. This section tests your ability to evaluate and analyse written content as well as synthesise information from it.
• Quantitative Reasoning: In quantitative reasoning, points were awarded in increments of one, with a maximum score of 170. This section assesses your comprehension, interpretation, and analysis of quantitative data as well as your ability to apply mathematical ideas and procedures to solve problems.
• Analytical Writing: A separate score is assigned in half-point increments from 0 to 6 for this section. It evaluates your analytical writing and critical thinking abilities, particularly your capacity to clearly state and persuasively defend complicated concepts.

In addition to these scores, the GRE provides a Total Score for the combined Verbal and Quantitative sections, which ranges from 260 to 340. The analytical writing portion is covered in a different report. For every section, you will find a percentile rank that indicates the percentage of test takers who scored lower than you. The percentile rank helps you understand how you did on the test by showing you how you performed in relation to other test-takers.

For instance, a Verbal Reasoning score of 160 could result in an 85% percentile rank, meaning that you outperformed 85% of test takers.

GRE Grading System Overview

• The GRE will provide you with an overall score as well as scores for each section.
• Your total GRE score will be between 260 and 340.
• The verbal and quantitative sections' scores range from 130 to 170 in one-point increments.
• Analytical writing scores range from 0 to 6, with half-point increments.
• Recent GRE test takers averaged around 151 in Verbal, 155 in Quantitative, and 3.5 in Writing.
• A good GRE score for each section is generally considered 158+ for Verbal, 159+ for Quantitative, and 4.5+ for Writing, with an overall score of 318+, placing you in the 75th percentile or higher.

Continue reading to understand more about the GRE Grading System in detail!

What is the GRE Score? 

In order to start your GRE preparation and get a good score, you must be aware of the differences in the GRE marking system for the two formats: GRE General Score and GRE Subject Score.

GRE General Test Marks 

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) facilitates admission to graduate programs in business, education, engineering, humanities and arts, law, life sciences, physical sciences, and social and behavioural sciences, among other majors. There are three sections in it: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing.

Both the analytical and verbal reasoning sections are scored using a 130–170 point scale with a 1–70 point increment, while the quantitative section is scored in half-point increments from 0 to 6.

How to Calculate GRE Exam Score for Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning

Scores on the GRE are calculated in increments of 1 point from 130 to 170 in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections. Your grades for these two sections are as follows:

• The quantity of questions you correctly answer
• The section's level of difficulty
• Quickness of response

How to Calculate GRE Exam Score for Analytical Writing and Thinking 

There is one essay question in the analytical writing portion of the GRE. The GRE marking scheme for this section assigns a score based on the way you approached writing your response. The essay must convey complicated ideas, show appropriate reasoning, gather evidence to support a position, and adhere to writing mechanics and grammar rules. You should be getting the following:

GRE Subject Test Marks

Three subject examinations are put together by the GRE conducting body ETS: 

• Psychology
• Physics
• Mathematics

It used to administer tests in Biology and Chemistry as well, but those have been discontinued. The subject test is graded on a scale of 200 to 990, with increments of 10 points. You should be aware, though, that test results in Physics and Psychology are subscored and evaluated using a 20–99 scale, with increments of one point. You are graded according to how well they answer questions on the GRE subject test in any subject. You have to understand that the subject test results should only be compared to one another.  This means that 550 in mathematics and 550 in physics shouldn't be compared.

How to Calculate Your GRE Score?

There are a few key steps in calculating your GRE score, but it's important to remember that ETS (Educational Testing Service) handles the precise conversion from raw scores to scaled scores, and this information is not made public. On the other hand, you can comprehend the procedure and obtain a general understanding of how your performance is evaluated. The following are the steps used to calculate the GRE Score:

Step 1: First, check that you understand the verbal and quantitative reasoning sections. There are forty questions in each of the two halves of these sections. Your score is based on how many of the correct answers you provide. Furthermore, analytical writing is scored separately in half-point increments ranging from 0 to 6.

Step 2: Secondly, calculate your Raw Score; the raw score is the sum of the questions you answered correctly in each section both verbally and quantitatively. Try to respond to every question as there is no penalty for giving an incorrect answer.

Step 3: Convert Raw Scores to Scaled Scores. This can be done as follow:

• Scaled Scores: Equating is the process used to transform raw scores into scaled scores. This procedure accounts for differences in test difficulty between iterations. Scaled scores for the verbal and quantitative sections range from 130 to 170.
• Conversion Tables: To convert raw scores into scaled scores, ETS uses conversion tables, which are not available to the general public. These tables guarantee score comparability between various test formats.

Step 4: Following the above step, you must find your position in the Percentile. Percentile ranks will be provided to you in addition to your scaled scores. The percentage of test-takers who scored lower than you is indicated by this rank. If your score falls into the 80th percentile, for instance, you outperformed 80% of test takers.

Step 5: Finally, you can assess your overall performance and report accordingly. Your total GRE score, which ranges from 260 to 340, is calculated by adding your verbal and quantitative scaled scores. This score also has a percentile rank, which is reported independently of the overall score.

Basically, your score report will include your three GRE scores: one for analytical writing (the essays), one for verbal reasoning, and one for quantitative reasoning (math). You will also receive a percentile rank in addition to your GRE scores. This is to give you an idea of how well you scored in relation to other GRE test takers. Your percentile rank increases the likelihood that you will be admitted into a prestigious graduate program.

GRE Score Percentiles

Each GRE score consists of two parts: a percentile rank and a scaled score (between 130 and 170). The significance of your percentile rank surpasses that of your scaled score. Your percentile rank shows you how you scored on the GRE in relation to other test takers. A scaled Verbal score of 150 on the GRE, for instance, corresponds to approximately the 47th percentile, indicating that you performed better than 47% of test takers and worse than the remaining 53%. These are the most recent ETS-released GRE percentile rankings.

Compared to the Verbal and Quantitative sections, the essays are scored slightly differently. The following are the equivalent to percentiles:

In other words, a GRE essay score of 5 indicates that you outperformed 91% of test takers.

What is a Good GRE Score?

Depending on the university you intend to apply to, a good GRE score varies. Find out what the average GRE scores are for the colleges you wish to apply to initially. This will help you understand the significance of these scores in relation to your application and give you something to aim for. But what makes for a "good" GRE score can change depending on factors such as including the graduate programs you're aiming for and how competitive they are. To help you understand what might be deemed a good GRE score, here is a general guide:

Good GRE Overall Score Range

Total GRE Score: This number, which varies from 260 to 340, is the sum of your Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning scores. 

• Outstanding: 320 and higher
• Good: 310–319
• Average: 300-309
• Below Average: Below 300

Good GRE Ranks by Percentile

The percentile ranks show how your score builds up against that of other test takers. The following roughly describes the meaning of various percentiles:

• 90th Percentile: A score in this range indicates that you outperformed 90% of test takers.
• 75th Percentile: A score in this range indicates that you outperformed 75% of test takers.
• 50th Percentile (Median): A score in the 50th percentile indicates that you outperformed 50% of examinees.

Good GRE Score by Section

For Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning

• Outstanding: 160–170
• Excellent: 150–159
• On Average: 140–149

It is common for competitive programs to require scores of 160 or higher in every category. Nonetheless, some programs might anticipate higher Quantitative Reasoning scores, particularly those with a strong quantitative focus (such as engineering or physical sciences).

For Analytical Writing

• Excellent: 5.0-6.0
• Good: 4.0-4.5
• Average: 3.0-3.5

In general, a score of 4.5 or above in the analytical writing section is regarded as good.

How to Get Good Marks in GRE? 

If you want to do well on the GRE exam, you should try to answer as many questions as possible correctly. You should be aware that a poor attempt will not result in a negative marking. But the difficulty level of your subsequent questions may be affected by your word attempt. Because the GRE employs an adaptive testing methodology, challenging questions will have a high perceived value, which will increase your score. Therefore, you must adequately prepare for the GRE exam in order to take it with confidence.

You can guarantee a respectable GRE score with its sample question paper, study guides, professional advice, and of course your commitment to study for the test.

You must note that a strong GRE score will help you get admission to over 1300 universities and colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Stanford University.

Candidates interested in learning more about the GRE Grading System should read this article. If you have any questions, please visit our Q&A sectionand feel free to contact us.

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