I recently read an article, possibly in Inside Higher Ed, that stated that the UC system was planning to stop using the GRE, but because this would cause such a massive decrease in income for ETS, they agreed to make a number of changes that were requested by UC. I understand the need for graduate programs to have some sort of consistent measure for aptitude since undergraduate programs vary so much in quality and rigor, but surely having students submit undergraduate papers, or prepare research models, etc. would be better than standardized tests. I guess it's all about how much effort the graduate programs want to put into their admissions process.