Tdearr Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Hi everyone, ETS has started to convert official scores from tests taken before August 1st to "estimated current scores" on the new GRE scale of 130-170. We are starting to analyze the new data. Here is our early analysis: Friday Surprise: ETS Releases Newly Converted GRE Scores | Manhattan GRE Blog Best, Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I took the old GRE and logged in today to MyGRE and noticed this too. I'm slightly concerned. I already sent my Score Reports to all my schools before this change was implemented. Will I be at a disadvantage by not having this new "Estimated Current Score" on my report, when they compare me to other applicants? :/ Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sollee Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just flat out do not understand how my projected scores (750-800 V; 730-800 Q), provided at the conclusion of the test, translated into my official 170-scale scores and their corresponding percentiles. For instance, if a 750 Verbal was a 99% score on the old test and is not on the new test, how do two candidates who scored the equivalent of that -- one on the old test, showing they've ranked in the 99th percentile, and one on the new test, which ranks them in the ~96th percentile -- get compared by an institution?? Please post more information as ETS releases their webinars, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resource Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just flat out do not understand how my projected scores (750-800 V; 730-800 Q), provided at the conclusion of the test, translated into my official 170-scale scores and their corresponding percentiles. For instance, if a 750 Verbal was a 99% score on the old test and is not on the new test, how do two candidates who scored the equivalent of that -- one on the old test, showing they've ranked in the 99th percentile, and one on the new test, which ranks them in the ~96th percentile -- get compared by an institution?? Please post more information as ETS releases their webinars, etc. It's actually a pretty easy concept. First, projected score ranges are nothing more than projected score ranges -- emphasis on projected. These are based on ETS' best guess on the raw score from your exam. The new score is scaled on a percentile basis based on how everyone else did on the exam. So, essentially, you answered your own question -- schools will compare students across percentiles. Your new GRE score will not have an old score estimate, so it is fruitless to compare a hypothetical projected score range to an old GRE score. Percentiles remain roughly equivalent across tests because the applicant pool has not changed drastically. You're still being compared to your peers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sollee Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Percentiles remain roughly equivalent across tests because the applicant pool has not changed drastically. You're still being compared to your peers. I think this is where it isn't quite true, though, because part of the reason ETS was changing the system was so that percentiles were spread out more evenly, right? So, for example, if anyone scoring between a 700-800 Verbal on the old test would have qualified for the 99th percentile, now it is actually only an 800 (170) that would achieve that. Everything I've read so far has been very confused about how this broader scoring system allows new and old testers to be compared. Edit: This is what I was referring to - I guess I'm asking if anyone sees the comparison tool being posted, I would like to take a look at it. A good GRE score percentile is basically above 90th percentile whereas the lowest GRE score percentile is below 50th. In the older percentile system, percentile scores in the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections differed a lot. For example, in the Verbal Reasoning section, a score between 740 and 800 would represent a percentile score of 99, whereas in the Quantitative Reasoning section, even a score of 800 would result in 94th percentile. In the revised GRE Test this problem has been addressed, and the resulting percentile scores should match up well. To help the admission authorities in comparing the scores of the new revised GRE test, an updated GRE comparison tool will be provided from November 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resource Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I think this is where it isn't quite true, though, because part of the reason ETS was changing the system was so that percentiles were spread out more evenly, right? So, for example, if anyone scoring between a 700-800 Verbal on the old test would have qualified for the 99th percentile, now it is actually only an 800 (170) that would achieve that. Everything I've read so far has been very confused about how this broader scoring system allows new and old testers to be compared. I still think you're missing the point. A 95%ile means that you scored better than 95% of the people who took the exam. This doesn't change with the nominal score. The scores (out of 800 or 170) are essentially meaningless transformations of the percentile. So, earning a 740 on the old exam or a 170 on the new exam means you out-performed the same percentage of people who took the exam. EDIT: ETS doesn't spread out percentiles -- they adjust the nominal scores to fit a desired distribution. Only you and I can adjust the percentiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carred Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Are any valid conversion tables available yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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