admin
Site Admin
Joined: 30 Sep 2005
Posts: 26
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 12:35 pm Post subject: Guide to Sample GRE Subject Tests Published by ETS |
|
As many of you know, ETS (the makers of the GRE) have published previously administered exams. You all probably already know about the free downloadable tests available on the GRE website. Currently you can download the following exams; GR0027 (chemistry), GR0022 (biochemistry), GR9924 (biology), GR0329 (computer science), GR9964 (literature), GR9768 (mathematics), GR0177 (physics), and GR9981 (psychology). I believe they give you a copy of your respective practice exam when you register for the test.
Many people feel the practice tests mentioned above can be invaluable in helping you prepare for your respective exam. Taking a previously administered practice test can give you a good idea of what to prepare for (i.e. format of test, type of material covered, level of difficulty, etc.). It can also help you gauge your performance so you know what areas you need to work on (i.e. how to pace yourself, what you need to review etc.). But are there any more of these previously administered exams in the public domain?
A bit about the “ETS Practicing to Take the GRE” books conundrum
With all of the GRE subject tests, ETS has published books of previously administered exams. The exams in these books are older than and probably not as representative as the newest downloads mentioned above. However, some feel these older exams are still very worthwhile to practice with. Unfortunately these books are out of print and have been out of print for a number of years. Therefore they may be very difficult to get.
To compound the difficulty of their “out of print” status, these books have been printed in various editions with various ISBN numbers. Many of the books with different ISBN numbers are identical. Also, many of the different editions contain the exact same exams.
For the moment let’s consider a specific example pertaining to the Physics GRE with the hope that it will help guide us as we try to uncover the mystery for the other GRE subject tests. Anyway, with the help of the physicsgre.com forums, I have been able to uncover the physics GRE subject test practice exam riddle. ETS has published the following 4 previously administered exams for the physics GRE: GR0177, GR9677, GR9277 and the GR8677. The “GR” stands for GRE. The “77” means it is the physics GRE and the two numbers in between correspond to the year published or administered or something along those lines (i.e. 2001, 1996, 1992, and 1986). The GR0177 is only available through the download above (i.e. it is not in any of the books). The GR9677, GR9277 and the GR8677 sample exams are available in the third edition of the GRE: Practicing to Take the Physics Test 3rd Edition (ISBN:0886851971) book (which also goes by some other ISBN numbers as well). The second edition of the GRE ETS book only contains the GR9277 and the GR8677. So if you have the third edition of this book then you don’t want to waste your money on any of the earlier editions (Note: This is not necessarily true with the other subject tests). Also, the GR9677 used to be available on the ETS website just like the GR0177 is now. Therefore you can find a downloadable copy of the GR9677 exam online at various locations. Also, since these documents are out of print and probably will never go back into print, some people have taken the time and liberty to scan in the earlier exams (GR9277 and GR8677) and post them for free download on various “non-commercial” websites (i.e. .edu sites). So everything is fine and dandy for the physics GRE test takers (at least the ones that know about the physicsgre.com forums) but what about the other seven GRE subject tests.
Lets try and make sense of the other previously administered, previously published, yet out of print GRE subject tests in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, computer science, literature, mathematics, and psychology. Below are links to threads I started to try and help uncover this mystery. I researched each GRE subject test and presented everything I found with the hope that we can collectively make sense of it all.
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Chemistry GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Biology GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Biochemistry GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Computer Science GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Literature in English GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Psychology GRE Subject Test
ETS Sample Test Mystery: Mathematics GRE Subject Test |
|
