The GRE scores play a key role in determining your admissions into the university of your preference. Therefore, it is always advisable to first understand how the GRE is scored so that you can prepare for the exam accordingly.
The GRE is a computer-adaptive and section-level adaptive test. This means that the difficulty level of the second part of the Verbal and Quantitative sections alters based on your performance in the first part of each section. Besides, there are no negative markings for incorrect answers, however, if a question has multiple correct answers, you will be expected to mark all correct answers to get the credit for that question.
Let us now learn how each section is scored.
GRE Score Ranges
| Section | Score Range |
| Analytical Writing | 0 to 6, 0.5 point increment |
| Verbal Reasoning | 130-170, 1 point increment |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 130-170, 1 point increment |
The total GRE scores are calculated on a range between 260-340. Your total GRE score which you will see once you complete your exam is a raw score or unofficial score. These scores are based on the number of questions you answered correctly in both the Verbal and Quantitative sections.
We have listed various factors that affect your scores :
- Number of questions answered
- Difficulty level of questions answered
- Accuracy of answering questions
Official Score Reports
The official score report will be sent to you 10-15 days after you complete your GRE exam. The report will contain your scaled scores. Scaled scores are obtained when your raw scores go through a process of equating. ETS has not shared the exact technique that is used for equating, however, you can use the GRE score calculator that is available online on several authentic sites to calculate your scaled score from your raw score. This will give you an estimate of what score you are likely to achieve with the raw score you have obtained.
The report will also contain the following information:
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Test dates
- Contact information ( Phone number, name and email address)
- Intended Graduate major
- Test scores (inclusive of Analytical writing section scores) and Percentile ranks
As mentioned above, the official report will contain your AWA scores as well. Let us now learn more about how your essays on the Analytical Writing section are scored.
The essay is first graded by a trained professional who scores the essay according to the overall quality and specific parameters present. It is then scored by an e-rater, which is a computerised program designed by the ETS. It identifies essential features of the essay like writing proficiency, critical thinking skills, etc. When both the human rater and e-rater scores closely match, the average score is given as the final score for the AWA section. In case there is a discrepancy, then a second human scorer evaluates the essay and a final score is presented as an average between both the human scorers.
To ensure that you reach your desired score in the GRE exam, you must prepare for the exam thoroughly. Some of the effective preparation strategies could include creating a study plan, using study materials from credible sources, downloading GRE previous year pdf from the official site and practicing them regularly and most importantly, attempting mock exams.
We hope this article has helped you gain a better understanding of how your GRE scores are calculated.
Good Luck!
