How and why is the General Test changing?
Starting on October 1, 2002, the General Test will be composed of verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections. The verbal and quantitative sections will be unchanged from their present content. The analytical writing section will be identical to the stand-alone test we now call the Writing Assessment, which was introduced in October 1999. The current analytical section will no longer be part of the General Test. These changes to the General Test are being made in order to (1) help admissions committees assess higher level critical thinking and analytical writing skills of applicants, and (2) provide a performance assessment that measures a test taker’s ability to make and critique arguments, which is central to the work done by graduate students in most fields.
