Educational Testing Services (ETS) offers the GRE® CAT, a computer-adaptive version of the Graduate Record Examination® General Test, which is widely used graduate schools to determine which applicants to admit and fund. This version of the GRE® employs an adaptive series of questions to assess a student’s ability in the categories of verbal and quantitative reasoning, with scores ranging from 200 to 800 in each. This test is administered on a computer, and the software adjusts the difficulty of the questions based on the demonstrated level of proficiency of the test taker. ETS announced plans to phase out this test in 2011 in 2009.
This version of the test has several significant advantages over the paper and pencil version. In order to produce accurate results for students at various levels, a paper and pencil test must include questions that challenge students at all levels of skill. This means that students answer many questions that are either too difficult or trivially simple for their level of ability. The GRE® CAT addressed this issue adjusting the difficulty of the questions posed based on the accuracy of the student’s previous responses. Students who correctly answer the initial questions are soon faced with more difficult questions, while those who do not are faced with progressively easier questions until they reach their proficiency level.
The difficulty of questions answered correctly determines how well you score on the GRE® CAT. As the student answers questions, the exam progresses, and the end, the software will have had enough time to accurately determine a student’s level of proficiency. The test can correct for a degree of error in early questions, allowing students to recover from one or two early incorrect answers, though early answers weigh more heavily in the overall calculation of a score than later ones.
The reactions of students and scholars to this type of test were mixed. On the one hand, the exam’s shorter length reduced stress because students only had one hour and 15 minutes to complete it. Other aspects of the GRE® CAT, on the other hand, may cause anxiety among test takers. Some students react negatively to questions they believe are simple, implying that they will perform poorly on the exam. Other students, particularly those who are accustomed to performing well on non-adaptive tests, were stressed when confronted with difficult questions, despite the fact that this indicates success on the GRE® CAT.