A very popular question among students considering whether to take the GRE or starting their GRE prep is, How is the GRE scored? In fact, the question of how the GRE is scored is often a source of worry and anxiety for test-takers, particularly since some aspects of the GRE scoring algorithm are kept under wraps by the test-makers.

In this article, I’ll answer the most common questions about how the GRE General Test is scored and give you a few tips for using the GRE scoring methodology to your advantage. GRE scoring may seem somewhat confusing and mysterious now, but understanding how the GRE is scored will hopefully put any worries you have to rest, and allow you to focus on the important business of mastering GRE content.

The question of how the GRE is scored is often a source of worry and anxiety for test-takers.

To start, let’s go over the basics of what your GRE score will look like.


On the GRE, the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections, which are scored in one-point increments, have a score range of 130 to 170. Your Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning scores make up your total GRE score. The Analytical Writing section, which is scored in half-point increments, has a score range of 0 to 6 (6.0, 5.5, 5.0, etc.). The Writing section is not factored into your total score.

Additionally, all section scores have a percentile ranking associated with them. For instance, according to ETS’s latest GRE General Test performance statistics, which are based on the scores of all GRE test-takers from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, a perfect score of 170 on the Verbal section would mean that you scored better than 99% of test-takers, while a score of 170 on the Quant section would mean that you scored better than 96% of test-takers. (For more on GRE percentile rankings, check out this guide.)

So, your GRE score will consist of your total score as well as section scores and percentile rankings for Quant, Verbal, and Writing. For instance, a score of 168 in Quant (93rd percentile), 166 in Verbal (97th percentile), and 5.0 in Writing (92nd percentile) will give you an impressive GRE score of 334.

Now that we know what the GRE score scale is, let’s explore how exactly your Quant and Verbal scores are calculated.


Since there are a total of 40 questions each in Quant and Verbal on the GRE (20 questions per section), it’s easy to assume that, starting from the lowest possible section score of 130, you simply add a point for each question you answer correctly. In that case, answering 38 out of 40 Quant questions correctly would earn you a Quant score of 168, right? Well, you may not be surprised to learn that GRE scoring isn’t quite that straightforward.

The GRE scoring algorithm does in fact start with a raw score — the number of questions you answered correctly, with each question worth one point. However, because the GRE is a section-adaptive test, your raw scores in Quant and Verbal are not the scores you’ll receive. Instead, the GRE algorithm uses a process called “equating.” Equating takes into account the section-adaptive nature of the test, which affects the difficulty of the questions you see, as well as small variations in the difficulty of the GRE over the years, as old questions have been retired and new ones introduced. So, while no single question within a section is “worth more points” than any other question in that section, ultimately, the difficulty levels of the sections play into the final (scaled) scores you receive.

In order to better understand how equating is used to calculate your GRE scores, we first need to understand the section-adaptive nature of the GRE. Let’s take a closer look.


The GRE is a section-adaptive test, meaning that your performance on the first Quant section you see determines the difficulty of the second Quant section, and likewise for the first and second Verbal sections. Importantly, there is no “cross-pollination” in GRE section adaptivity; your performance on a Verbal section does not affect the difficulty of a Quant section, or vice versa.

Since a test-taker’s performance on Quant or Verbal section 1 determines the difficulty of Quant or Verbal section 2, everyone starts with medium-level questions in the first Quant and first Verbal sections they see. This ensures an even playing field for all test-takers. The number of those medium-level Quant or Verbal questions you answer correctly determines whether the questions in the second Quant or Verbal section you see are mostly easier, mostly harder, or generally about the same level of difficulty as your section 1 questions.

For instance, let’s say that on the first Verbal section you see, you answer 19 out of 20 questions correctly. Given your high accuracy rate on the first Verbal section, the 20 questions in the second Verbal section you see will be more difficult than the questions you saw in the first section and fairly advanced in general. Furthermore, they will be more difficult than the questions someone who had a lower accuracy rate on their first section will see. Conversely, if you answer only 12 out of the 20 questions in the first Verbal section correctly, your second Verbal section will be another medium-level section, probably containing a mix of easy and medium-level questions.

Keep in mind that “more difficult” does not necessarily mean hard-level questions exclusively, or the hardest GRE questions out there; it simply means more difficult, in general, than what you saw in the first section. The same goes for “easier,” which does not necessarily mean “easy.” It’s better to think of GRE difficulty on a continuum; your accuracy in answering questions will determine how much harder or easier the questions in the next corresponding section will be.

With all that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the importance of accuracy on a section-adaptive test such as the GRE.


It’s essential to reiterate that the GRE is adaptive only on a section level, not on a question-by-question basis. In other words, getting Quant question #3 incorrect will not affect the difficulty of Quant question #4 within the same section. Your total number of correct answers in a section determines the difficulty of the questions in the second section of that type.

In the same vein, getting a certain type of question right or wrong in a first section does not mean that you will see only hard or easy questions of that type in the corresponding second section. Remember, the GRE takes a holistic view of your performance in a section, so your overall accuracy determines the overall difficulty of the questions in the next corresponding section. For instance, let’s say that you see two ratio questions in Quant section 1 and get both of them wrong. Does that mean that any ratio questions you see in Quant section 2 will be easy? Not at all. The GRE doesn’t care what types of questions you got wrong; it only cares that you got that number of questions wrong. The test-taker sitting next to you could get two questions on inscribed shapes wrong in Quant section 1, but provided you both got 18 out of 20 questions correct on Quant section 1, your second Quant sections would be considered equal to each other in difficulty, despite the fact that one of you missed ratio questions and the other missed questions on inscribed shapes.

In short, the topics tested in the questions you get right or wrong do not matter as far as calculating your GRE score. To use our example above, incorrectly answering two ratio questions in Quant section 1 will not raise or lower your final score any more than incorrectly answering two questions on inscribed shapes will. The point is, you got two questions wrong, so Quant section 2 will be, in general, a little easier than it would’ve been had you incorrectly answered no questions, or just one question.

What does this mean for your GRE preparation strategy? First, accuracy should be your primary goal. You want to answer as many questions as possible correctly in each GRE section, because each of the questions in a single section will contribute equally to your final score. Second, you must strive to be as well-versed in GRE content as possible, across the board. Since the scoring algorithm does not consider certain GRE topics more important than others — you won’t score higher because you’re better at problems involving probabilities than you are at those involving standard deviation — you need to master all GRE topics in order to drive your accuracy level up.

Of course, while no topic is weighted more heavily than another, the difficulty of how those topics are tested certainly will affect your score. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the impact of GRE section adaptivity on your final scores.


As you may have already figured out, the upshot of the GRE’s section-adaptive testing method is that your performance on the first Quant and Verbal sections you see can, in essence, make or break your GRE score. Now, this doesn’t mean that as long as you ace the first section in each category, you can “relax” in the second sections and still earn a great GRE score. The importance of the first Quant and Verbal sections is not that performing well on them guarantees a high GRE score but that performing well on them gives you the opportunity to earn a top score. If you want to earn an impressive GRE score, you should put your full effort into every single GRE question you see, in every section.