…The new version, planned to be the biggest overhaul in the test’s history, was designed to prevent cheating and to produce a more accurate measure of students’ ability. But it would have been longer, more expensive and more difficult to administer…</p>
<p>It included revised sections on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing, totaling four hours in length. The current version is two and a half hours.The announcement yesterday caught many in the education establishment off guard. U.S. News & World Report published its widely read annual “America’s Best Graduate Schools” issue this week and included an article warning graduate students about the updated test set to make its debut in the fall.</p>
<p>Susan Kaplan, the director of graduate programs at Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, said Kaplan had been advising its clients to take the current version of the G.R.E. before the new version was put in place.</p>
<p>“We do think the new test would have been more challenging,” Ms. Kaplan said, adding that she welcomed the announcement. “It’s a positive thing that E.T.S. realized that the change would do more harm than good,” she said.</p>
<p>Robert Schaeffer, public education director at FairTest, a group that opposes the broad use of standardized testing, said E.T.S. had still left the security problems of its test unsolved.</p>
<p>“They’re now using a system that they’ve admitted is a security risk,” Mr. Schaeffer said. “It certainly is a further chink in their armor and undermines the credibility of their product.”</p>
<p>While the risk still remains, Mr. Payne said, he believes it has so far been limited to four countries in Asia.</p>
<p>“If that same behavior spread to the English-speaking world, that would pose a very serious security risk for us,” Mr. Payne said. ?We monitor our G.R.E. scores regularly, and we see no evidence that there’s this type of organized sharing of memorized items. We consider it a threat that we’re constantly vigilant about."