How Accurate is the GRE Powerprep Software?

[cake268]

For those of you that have taken the actual GRE already, did you use the GRE Powerprep software and the practice tests it includes? And if so, how accurate were the scores you got on the practice tests from Powerprep, relative to what you actually got on the GRE.

I'm feeling reasonably good about my scores on the practice tests, but I don't want to get complacent only to find out that they aren't really an accurate gauge of what my score will be on the real test.

Anyone care to comment on the accuracy, even if it is just anecdotal evidence? Did you score higher or lower than on the practice tests? By how much?

Thanks!

Edited November 18, 2009 by cake268

[Ziz]

I found the practice tests slightly easier than the actual GRE, though some of that could have been that I was nervous on the actual day. On my practice verbal sets I was getting around 740-780 and I got a 710, but as everyone knows the verbal really is a crapshoot and the words on my actual GRE were pretty killer. The practice math was pretty varied. I was getting anywhere from 680-780 and I came out with a 720. I found the actual GRE math slightly harder than the practice, but as I said I was quite nervous.

All this to say that I think that the practice tests are overall a pretty good measure, but don't be surprised if you do slightly better or worse on the actual GRE, especially in the verbal section. Good luck!

[ilovedogs]

Powerprep I was scoring 580-620 V and 750-780 Q, actual GRE score 620 V/700 Q. Math part was harder/more complicated than Powerprep, Verbal part was equal.

[a fragrant plant]

I found Powerprep an accurate predictor of my acutal GRE score.

[Jennszoo]

My 2 Powerprep scores were

610/620 V

670/660 Q

My actual, taken today:

640V

720Q

[SLPSeminole]

Wow congrats on your GRE score today fellow future SLP

[spozik]

My two PowerPrep scores were:

660V / 720Q

650V / 730Q

My actual taken today:

670V / 760Q

[keylimekai]

I did WAY better on the actual verbal part. I think my Powerprep scores were

590V/780Q

620V/720Q

Actual:

690V/750Q

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

powerprep 1: 770V

600M

powerprep 2: 780V

620M

actual score was 800V and 630M.

so, for me it was pretty insanely accurate.

i also think it's worth it to note that the kaplan and princeton review practice exams were giving me verbal scores that didn't even break a 700. in my experience, the powerprep was the real deal and the test prep companies gave me nothing more than indigestion, sweaty palms, and night terrors.

Edited November 19, 2009 by JennyFieldsOriginal

[cake268]

powerprep 1: 770V

600M

powerprep 2: 780V

620M

actual score was 800V and 630M.

so, for me it was pretty insanely accurate.

i also think it's worth it to note that the kaplan and princeton review practice exams were giving me verbal scores that didn't even break a 700. in my experience, the powerprep was the real deal and the test prep companies gave me nothing more than indigestion, sweaty palms, and night terrors.

Thanks for mentioning that Jenny.....I had only taken the 2 GRE Powerprep tests until today, when I decided to try a Princeton Review one....and it completely demoralized me. So, I'm glad to hear that I wasn't the only one, given that my test date is tomorrow.

BTW, congratulations on an 800 on verbal....that's got to feel nice.

[InUtero1994]

Are you guys using 800score. com practice GRE exams... or are you guys actually enrolled in a powerscore course and taking the practice exam from there..

i ask because i'm using 800score and i'm scoring in the 600 range and wondering if thats an accurate prediction of how i will do on the real thing..

Thanks

[Eyetea]

My Powerprep score wee

570V/800Q

560V/790Q

My actual score was

560V/800Q

So I can say they were dead spot on!

[Jennszoo]

Are you guys using 800score. com practice GRE exams... or are you guys actually enrolled in a powerscore course and taking the practice exam from there..

i ask because i'm using 800score and i'm scoring in the 600 range and wondering if thats an accurate prediction of how i will do on the real thing..

Thanks

This thread is referring to the PowerPrep tests you get free from the ETS site.

I also paid for and took the 800score.com tests. My first few were in the 500s and I did get close to 700 on 2, but mainly was around the 600s for most of those. They also didnt have any of the graph/chart data analysis questions like the real test had. But their explanations were very helpful.

[Nytusse]

powerprep 1: 770V

600M

powerprep 2: 780V

620M

actual score was 800V and 630M.

so, for me it was pretty insanely accurate.

i also think it's worth it to note that the kaplan and princeton review practice exams were giving me verbal scores that didn't even break a 700. in my experience, the powerprep was the real deal and the test prep companies gave me nothing more than indigestion, sweaty palms, and night terrors.

I will second your comment about the kaplan and princeton review practice exams. I also got a perfect verbal, and I was getting disgustingly, depressingly low scores on every practice test, especially the reading comprehension for some strange reason. If I recall correctly, even the GRE practice exams had me coming out much lower in both scores than I actually got, but then again I'm one of those weird ones who does better under pressure.

Flunked my writing, though, that's for sure! And that was something I anticipated having the least trouble with.

[cake268]

I'll throw my two cents in here, now that I've taken the actual test. Perhaps this will be helpful to people taking the test later this year and next year....

My scores on the PowerPrep exam were:

660V 680Q (before studying)

670V 760Q (after studying, mostly math)

My actual scores were 590V and 750Q. So...the math was pretty accurate, once I studied it. I did a lot worse on the verbal section than I anticipated. I was pretty sick on test day (had to leave the room twice, but not during timed portions that mattered), and threw up within about 10 minutes of getting home. But still....I was a little surprised by the verbal score since that's usually my strong suit.

But math seemed to be right on in terms of scoring.

[jacib]

Powerprep

760V 790Q

740V 800Q

Real deal:

800V 780Q

BUT, I should add, that on my practice tests the only questions I was really messing up on were the antonyms, and on my real exam the antonyms were so easy that I thought I had made serious mistakes and got sent down a lower track. Basically I lucked out big time, but I was so nervous I did the whole experimental section at the end because I didn't want to see my score. In the math, on the real test I got caught up on one problem that I misread. I spent like 6 minutes on it before realizing I was calculating the wrong thing (I was doing x+y, it wanted x+z kept getting these funky results even though I knew how to do the problem). There was another problem about a triangle inscribed in a semi circle that I know I got wrong because I just had to guess and move on (totally the right decision).

But here's one thing I should add:

The algorithm that some of the test companies used is quite different from the real GRE's. In the verbal, my scores were the same on the Powerprep and Barron's, but because most of my math mistakes were from misreading the problem, I am as likely to get a problem wrong in the middle as the end. The real GRE didn't seem to care, but on my Barron's practice CD tests, I definitely got like in the 600s for math both times.

[NeuroNerd86]

For me it was very accurate actually. For my actual test I got about average of my practice scores for verbal and the highest score for math that I got practicing. So there were no surprises.

Edited December 3, 2009 by NeuroNerd86

[boxboss]

Powerprep was really accurate, especially compared to the Kaplan practice tests. I was getting below-700 verbal scores on Kaplan, then took both Powerpreps and got 800s. Final score was 770. I was actually disappointed when I saw 770 instead of 800, but then I thought - "you asshole".

My Quant scores were all over the place. I ended up getting a 760 but that was the highest score I got in any of my practice exams.

[neuropsych76]

this is good to hear that the powerprep gives the most accurate scores.. i've done my best by far on the power prep test i took!

i've taken many different practice tests from the different prep books and from online sources. i've had my score jump 400 points in either direction in a matter of days from the different practice tests lol

i take the real GRE in two days, i hope the powerprep is most accurate!

[DrFaustus666]

if you go thru old posts under GRE/GMAT, you'll find that dozens of people have all come to the same conclusions:

1---powerprep is the best predictor of your real score; and

2---the various commercial practice tests, i.e., kaplan, princeton, barron, peterson, et al ALL give you a LOWER score than your real score. It IS demoralizing and even cynical in my opinion---their motive is to recruit you into their prep classes

john

[Bukharan]

PowerPrep

660V 760Q

580V 790Q

Real Deal

720V 790Q

Similar to the experiences of a few other people who posted in this thread, I did way better in the real-test verbal section. This is pretty bizarre as I did not feel a difference when taking a test. Certainly, did not expect an improvement. In fact, I was worried that I messed it up to the end (probably because the questions were getting harder). I love the fact that the test is adaptive, it is such a good idea. The quantitative score prediction proved accurate.

Good luck to all those who are yet to take the test!

[Engineer]

I noticed the same thing on the verbal. I scored much higher on the real test than I did on powerprep. Interestingly enough I got the exact same scores on the real GRE as you did Vladimir.

[mustekke6184]

Are you sure that GRe companies are really worst to measure our actual score? İn fact, these makes me demotıvated so I need the best straigth comment.

[Bukharan]

From what I've read on various forums, yes. Companies that sell GRE materials want you to take their free sample tests, freak out and buy their preparation materials. Quite often the real-test results end up being (much) higher.

Having said that, you should keep in mind that those GRE companies base their test questions and the evaluation of your answers on something. Perhaps, it is often the worst-case scenario you can get on the real test (really hard questions; bad luck at the beginning of the test etc.) - but it can happen and the actual score may prove similar.

If you think that your GRE company is too 'harsh', try free PowerPrep and compare the scores. PowerPrep is not perfect at predicting the scores (nothing and noone is) but it is arguably more accurate than many private GRE preparation programmes.

[DrFaustus666]

Are you sure that GRe companies are really worst to measure our actual score? İn fact, these makes me demotıvated so I need the best straigth comment.

Sure? As in

"A 1-to-1 negative correlation between commercial test software and ETS's powerprep software has been unmistakeably and unimpeachably proven using regression analysis; the sample set comprises thousands of cases spanning decades of research. All studies have been peer-reviewed, cross-checked, and double-blind executed. The predictive validity of this conclusion is all but certain (n = 100000, p < 0.00001)."

No. Some people's commerical scores do resemble the real GRE.

But MOST people score lower on the commercial tests than on the real GRE. At least, most people who report on this forum say that. And a group of us have pondered this, and independently come up with the same conclusion: The most probable reason for this is that the commercial companies have a vested interest. They want you to buy their books, enroll in their preparation classes, and if possible, they wish you to take the le action ne plus ultra, sign up for help with one of their private tutors, which can cost up to $250/hour or more. If you don't believe me, just take a gander at Kaplan's or Princeton Review's websites and check out their rates for private tutors.

I will make one recommendation, and I'll preface that with this disclaimer: I am NOT in any way affiliated with Manhattan GRE, but their free on-line CAT came closer to replicating my recent live GRE than any other online test has so far done. And I will also say, I have not attempted to make any comprehensive study of the subject.

If you want more info on Manhattan GRE, contact Tdearr on this site. He or she IS an employee of Manhattan GRE.

Edited October 30, 2010 by DrFaustus666