As previously reported in The Daily Helmsman, the Graduate Record Examination was going to be extended from a two-and-a-half-hour-long test to a four as well as undergoing other changes.
However, now, Educational Testing Services has changed their mind about the changes.
"After careful evaluations, ETS canceled the GRE changes," said Jung Lee, the GRE program manager for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.
According to Lee, the new GRE was going to be launched in 2007, yet now it is guaranteed that there will be no changes for the 2007 and 2008 sessions. But, ETS still hasn't ruled out the possibility of using the changes in the future.
"We know for sure that the current test will be around for the next two years," he said.
But, even with the new changes that were going to be made, some students were wondering why they were necessary.
"If it ain't broke, then don't fix it," said Josh Camburn, junior biology and film production major.
A key reason to not put the changes forward was that ETS could not guarantee full student access to the computer labs on the limited days that the test would be given, Lee said.
"With going from almost 300 tests a year to 35, there was going to be a need for over 100,000 seats per date," he said. "So the accessibility factor was bigger versus the new security measures."
With the changes to the test and the amount of seats needed for students to take it, some are just happy that it is staying the same.
"I'm fine with it staying the same," said Zee Saul, junior interior design major. "I think its crazy to try to find that many seats per test."
With over $12 million invested in the project, the changes will happen sometime in the future.
ETS is still set on trying to improve the GRE, Lee said.
"Students should plan to take the GRE as they had originally planned," Lee said. "The test scores are good for five years."
