Students taking the Graduate Record Exam, better known as the GRE, should expect more changes beginning this November. The Educational Testing Service, the organization that develops the exam, announced in July that it will add two additional types of questions to the test. The service said it is instituting the changes to make it a better predictor of a student’s success in graduate school.

This fall’s form of the exam will introduce a new type of math question and a new type of verbal question. If successful, more changes may be introduced, said Jennifer Kedrowski, GRE program manager of Kaplan Test Preparation.

The new math question will be a numeric entry, where students will be given a nonmultiple choice math question and be required to answer it “fill-in-the-blank.”

The second addition, a new verbal question, will be in a text completion format, similar to the current “sentence completion.” The question includes two to three word blanks.

“For every blank there is a unique list of possible answer choices,” Kedrowski said. “To add to the difficulty, students will not be able to receive partial credit if they only miss one word.”

Although these changes will be put into effect in November, they will not be scored until there is sufficient data. In addition, test-takers will see either one new math question or one new verbal question, but never both. Some exams may not have any new material.

“We are going to try these questions out and see how they work,” said Tom Ewing, the service’s director of press relations. “We will collect data, and when we have enough, we will begin to score the new questions properly.”

The new questions may be more challenging, said Kedrowski, and no one knows what other changes the service will make in the future. She recommends that students take the GRE as soon as possible.

“It’s better to take the exam sooner rather than later,” Kedrowski said. “ETS will continue to roll out changes, and with that uncertainty it’s really important to take the exam before then if prepared.”

Casey Meyer, senior in LAS, is taking the GRE in October to avoid any surprise changes. Meyer said that as soon as she discovered that the changes would begin in November, she signed up to take the test before that date.

“I know the new questions will not be graded yet, but I’ve been studying for a long time assuming that the test prep book I have for the 2007 test would be sufficient,” Meyer said. She added that she has enough anxiety and didn’t need to worry about nongraded questions.

Kedrowski also recommends that students prepare two to three months in advance of the test, and take it seriously.

“Students should keep in mind that their GRE score can not only get them into grad school, but it’s also good for financial aid,” said Kedrowski. “With a good enough score, students can receive scholarships, assistantships and grants.”