Key takeaways
- Since 22 September 2023 the GRE is five sections in about 1 hour 58 minutes, with no scheduled break.
- The second Verbal and second Quant sections get harder or easier based on the first. A fixed-paper mock cannot copy that, or give a true 130–170 score.
- Leave full adaptive rehearsals to ETS’s POWERPREP tests. Spend your own test time on timed sectional tests, topic drills and essay feedback.
- In Vacademy, timed section tests run on the standard test screen, and reports show weak topics, time per question and popular wrong options.
Picture a Saturday mock at a GRE coaching center in Hyderabad. Forty students sit a paper the institute wrote years ago: two essays, four sections of 20 questions, a break in the middle. It runs close to four hours.
That paper trains the wrong test. ETS shortened the GRE General Test on 22 September 2023. It now takes about 1 hour 58 minutes, and the 2026–27 GRE Information Bulletin confirms there is no break during the test. If a student leaves the seat, the section clock keeps running.
The current GRE in one table
| Section | Questions | Time | Time per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytical Writing | 1 “Analyze an Issue” task | 30 min | — |
| Verbal Reasoning, section 1 | 12 | 18 min | 1 min 30 s |
| Verbal Reasoning, section 2 | 15 | 23 min | about 1 min 32 s |
| Quantitative Reasoning, section 1 | 12 | 21 min | 1 min 45 s |
| Quantitative Reasoning, section 2 | 15 | 26 min | about 1 min 44 s |
Source: ETS test structure page. Time per question is our own division of minutes by questions.
Writing always comes first. The two Verbal and two Quant sections can then appear in any order. Verbal and Quant are scored 130–170 and the essay 0–6, the essay in half-point steps. And nothing is subtracted for wrong answers, so students should answer every question, even when guessing.
Section-level adaptivity, and what it means for practice
ETS puts it simply. The first Verbal and first Quant sections are of average difficulty. The second section of each gets harder or easier depending on the first. The score counts right answers across both sections and their difficulty.
For an institute:
- The first section does two jobs. It earns marks and it decides the level of the next section. Train accuracy on 12-question sets before speed.
- Do not print a GRE score on your own mocks. Only ETS can turn right answers into the 130–170 scale. A made-up “predicted 322” on a fixed paper gives false comfort. Report raw marks per section and per question type.
- Watch the multi-answer questions. ETS gives no credit for a partly correct answer. A student who picks one of two right choices scores zero on that question. Check how your own tests award marks on multi-answer questions, so a mock does not give partial credit the GRE would not.
What to use ETS’s practice tests for, and what to build yourself
ETS offers two free POWERPREP Online tests, one untimed and one timed, plus paid POWERPREP PLUS tests that also score the essay. Real questions, real tools. No institute can match that, so do not try.
Use ETS’s own tests for
- Two or three full rehearsals near the end, on a platform ETS calls very similar to the real test
- A scaled score estimate (the timed POWERPREP test gives one; the untimed one does not)
- Learning the real tools: Mark, Review and the on-screen calculator
Build these yourself
- Timed sectional tests: 12 questions in 18 or 21 minutes, 15 in 23 or 26
- Topic drills by question type: Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Quantitative Comparison, data sets
- Weekly essays on ETS’s published topic pool, marked by your teachers
- An error log: which question types, which wrong options, how many seconds
A sensible order: the untimed POWERPREP test early, to learn the screen. Your own sectional tests every week. The timed POWERPREP and any PLUS tests in the last few weeks. For essays, ETS publishes its whole pool of Analytical Writing topics, so weekly essay practice needs no invented prompts.
Tick the ones that sound like your institute.
- Your mocks still have 20-question sections or two essays
- A full mock runs close to four hours, with a break in the middle
- You print a predicted GRE score on your own papers
- Sectional tests are untimed, or the student keeps the time
- You cannot say which question types and wrong options your batch misses most
- Essays come back weeks later, or not at all
Ticked two or more? A demo will show timed sectional tests and their reports in Vacademy.
Sectional tests in Vacademy
A Mock Assessment in Vacademy can be opened at any time, but once a student starts, the time limit is locked. Set 12 questions and 18 minutes, and you have a Verbal section 1 drill. Most GRE question types map onto question types Vacademy already has:
Two gaps to plan for. ETS’s Verbal page says Text Completion items can have two or three blanks, with no credit for a partly correct answer. That has no direct match: either list every combination of answers as the choices of one multiple-choice question, or accept that marking each blank separately gives partial credit the real test does not. And the Quant page says some Numeric Entry answers are fractions typed into two boxes. Rewrite those as decimals or as multiple choice.
See a timed GRE section run in Vacademy
Bring one Verbal or Quant section. We will walk through the timed test screen and the report on a call.
Questions can be typed in, uploaded from your existing Word or PDF papers, or drafted with AI and then edited, as described in how Vacademy builds quizzes and assessments. Essays can go to a teacher for marking, or the AI can score them against the rubric and key points you set, with feedback a teacher can check.
The report is where your institute earns its fee. Each student sees strong and weak topics, right, wrong and skipped answers, and rank and percentile within the batch. Teachers see time spent per question and which wrong options students chose most. If half the batch picks “cannot be determined” on Quantitative Comparison questions that do have an answer, that is next week’s class. More on this in how AI can improve practice, feedback and revision.
Honest limits
- Vacademy does not run adaptive tests. Every student gets the same fixed set of questions.
- GRE practice uses Vacademy’s standard test screen. Vacademy’s exam-style test screens cover JEE Main-, JEE Advanced-, GATE- and RRB JE-style tests, not the GRE.
- There is no click-a-sentence question type. Rewrite “select the sentence” questions as multiple choice.
- Vacademy is not connected to ETS. GRE and POWERPREP are ETS trademarks.
Your students practice inside your institute’s own branded portal, under your name, which matters when parents and students compare coaching options. See how to build a trusted teaching brand.
Questions GRE institutes ask
How long is the GRE General Test now?
About 1 hour 58 minutes: a 30-minute essay, two Verbal sections and two Quant sections, with no scheduled break. This format started on 22 September 2023.
Should a GRE coaching institute still run full-length mocks?
A few, to build stamina for two hours without a break. But your own paper cannot copy the adaptive step or give a true 130–170 score, so use ETS’s POWERPREP tests for full rehearsals and timed sectional tests for the rest.
Does the GRE have negative marking?
No. ETS says nothing is subtracted for wrong answers, so students should answer every question. Multi-answer questions give no credit for a partly correct answer.
Can Vacademy run adaptive GRE tests?
No. Every student gets the same fixed set of questions in a timed test. That suits sectional practice and topic drills; ETS’s own practice tests cover the adaptive experience.
Which GRE question types can we build in Vacademy?
One-blank Text Completion, single-answer and Quantitative Comparison questions (MCQ Single Correct), select-one-or-more and Sentence Equivalence (MCQ Multiple Correct), Numeric Entry with integer or decimal answers (Numerical Response), reading and data sets (Comprehension-Based) and essays (Long Answer). Two- and three-blank Text Completion has no direct match: list every combination of answers as one MCQ, or accept that marking each blank separately gives partial credit the GRE does not. Fraction answers, which the GRE takes in two boxes, need rewriting as decimals or multiple choice. There is no click-a-sentence type.
Try Vacademy with one of your GRE sets
Bring a Verbal or Quant section you already use. In the demo, upload it, run it as a timed test and see the report your team would get.