Each year, more and more educators decide to bolster their credentials and expand their teaching reach. For many primary and secondary schools, a masters degree is already a requirement for the job. And naturally deep down all educators (myself humbly included on that list) want to change the face of education in some form or another. Naturally to get into these programs, you’ve almost always got to take the GRE. So what score will you need to get in?
First, let’s look at the intended majors.
Education GRE Scores by Intended Major
| Verbal | Quantitative | AWA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 151 | 148 | 3.8 |
| Administration | 151 | 148 | 3.7 |
| Curriculum and Instruction | 151 | 149 | 3.8 |
| Early Childhood | 147 | 146 | 3.4 |
| Elementary | 149 | 147 | 3.7 |
| Evaluation and Research | 151 | 148 | 3.8 |
| Higher | 152 | 149 | 4.0 |
| Secondary | 154 | 151 | 4.0 |
| Special | 148 | 145 | 3.5 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services | 149 | 146 | 3.6 |
| Other | 152 | 151 | 3.8 |
The scores above are intended majors. What does “intended” major mean? It simply means that that these are the average scores of people planning on applying to graduate school in a specific major.
Average GRE Scores for Education (Accepted and Aspiring)
The US News and World Report is kind enough to produce data on the top graduate programs in education. I’ve culled the PhD score data from the report and reproduced it below in an easy-to-read format.
Average GRE Scores by Program Ranking
| Accepted and Intended | Avg. Verbal Score | Percentile | Avg. Quantitative Score | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10 | 160 | 85th | 156 | 59th |
| #11-25 | 156 | 72nd | 153 | 48th |
| #26-50 | 155 | 67th | 152 | 44th |
| #51-100 | 153 | 59th | 149 | 33rd |
| Top 100 | 155 | 67th | 151 | 50th |
| Intended Education Applicants | 151 | 50th | 148 | 29th |
| All GRE Test-Takers | 150 | 45th | 154 | 51st |
Naturally, for masters’ programs, the scores are a point or two lower in each section. 🙂
What Can We Take Away from Education Programs’ Average GRE Scores?
As expected, if you’re aiming for an upper tier education program, a good GRE score for you is going to be different than if your desired program just squeaked into the top 100. For the top schools, your verbal reasoning score, especially, would need to be 9 points about the typical education aspirant in order meet the average intake for a top 10 program.
So if you’re considering, say, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, or Stanford, make sure you’ve got the right scores to make the cut. Also, don’t forget that the GRE isn’t the only factor considered when assessing your application. There’s a lot to be considered and so even if you have an average or above average score for your desired program, that doesn’t guarantee admission!
