GRE Percentiles Explained

Your GRE score report shows two numbers for each section: a scaled score and a percentile rank. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are scored on a 130 to 170 scale in 1-point steps, and Analytical Writing is scored from 0 to 6 in half-point steps, as set in the GRE Guide to the Use of Scores.

The scaled score is fixed once your test ends. The percentile rank attached to it puts the score in context against a large group of other test takers, and it is the number graduate programs read to judge how strong a score is.

Percentile Rank vs Scaled Score

A percentile rank is the percent of test takers in the reference group who scored below a given score. ETS defines a 70th percentile score as one which beat 70 percent of the reference group, as explained in Interpreting Your GRE Scores.

The scaled score itself never changes after your test. The percentile linked to it is allowed to shift from year to year, because ETS recalculates percentiles against a moving pool of recent test takers rather than a fixed group.

Why Quant Percentiles Run Lower Than Verbal at the Same Score

Verbal and Quant share the same 130 to 170 scale, but a given score lands at a different percentile in each section. The table below shows the gap at three score points, based on GRE General Test Interpretive Data, Table 1B.

The gap comes from where each score sits inside its own distribution. Over the July 2022 to June 2025 population, the Quant mean is 157.62 with a standard deviation of 9.90, while the Verbal mean is 151.39 with a standard deviation of 8.43, according to GRE General Test Interpretive Data, Table 1A. A score of 160 sits closer to the middle of the Quant distribution than the Verbal distribution, so fewer people score below it there, which produces a lower percentile.

ETS Percentile Table Update Cadence

ETS updates the interpretive data annually, according to Interpreting Your GRE Scores. Each update draws on a rolling three-year window of test takers rather than a fixed historical group. The tables active for the 2026-27 cycle cover test takers from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025, drawing on 788,021 Verbal scores, 790,864 Quant scores and 785,720 Analytical Writing scores.

Because the reference window keeps moving, a scaled score which mapped to one percentile last year is allowed to map to a different percentile this year, even though the scaled score meaning stays fixed. ETS does not publish an exact calendar date for the yearly refresh in its scoring guides, so check ets.org/gre/scoreresources for the table in effect when you apply.

Where Percentiles Appear on the Official Score Report

Your official score report lists a percentile rank beside each scaled score, for Verbal, Quant and Analytical Writing. ETS notes the percentile ranks on your score report let you compare your performance among the three measures, per Interpreting Your GRE Scores. For a full walkthrough of the report layout and delivery timing, see our guide to GRE score reporting.

ETS also directs programs to treat Verbal, Quant and Analytical Writing as three separate and independent measures. Scores should not be summed, averaged or compared against each other directly, per the GRE Guide to the Use of Scores. A high Quant percentile does not offset a low Verbal percentile within the GRE scoring system: each measure stands alone.

Analytical Writing Percentiles

Analytical Writing scores run in half-point steps from 0 to 6, and each score maps to its own percentile, drawn from the same July 2022 to June 2025 population of 785,720 test takers.

Using Percentiles Alongside Program-Specific Score Ranges

Percentile tables update every year, so a comparison between two applicants should rely on the same, current table. ETS guidance directs readers to use the appropriate percentile ranks when comparing candidates, and points to ets.org/gre/scoreresources for the current version.

ETS also discourages programs from setting a single minimum cutoff score. Its guidance urges departments to report score ranges instead, such as the highest and lowest scores among the middle 50 percent of admitted applicants, and flags a minimum-score cutoff as poor admissions practice, per the GRE Guide to the Use of Scores.

Put these points together and a percentile rank works best as one data point, not a pass or fail line. Check your target programs' published score ranges alongside the current percentile table, and read our guide on what counts as a good GRE score for how programs weigh Verbal and Quant differently. Then try our free GRE score calculator, no signup required, to turn raw performance into scaled scores.

Sources

• Interpreting Your GRE Scores: 2026-27
• GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27
• GRE General Test Interpretive Data (Table 1A/1B/1C)
• GRE Score Resources