TCYonline.com: Students Net gains are soaring

Posted by TCYonline.com on November 26, 2008

NEW DELHI, Nov. 26 – Recession or no recession, the modern Indian student always aspires for more – more knowledge, more money and more challenge.  The just concluded CAT and the very thought of fat MBA pay packages spur him on to perform better each passing  day.

Be it upcoming SNAP, FMS and XAT, or for that matter any college/school or competitive exam, the student’s Net gains have made him more confident after he has learnt how to wriggle out of difficult situations.  Online testing being his new success mantra, all he has to do is benchmark his performance against the best in India and abroad, and raise his bar.

Today, we see a study shift from chalk-and-board to computers with the greater impact of education websites like TCYonline.com which have brought a revolution of sorts in the test prep sector. A smart student is supplementing his classroom education with online practice tests, which are taking precedence over traditional ‘bookish’ learning.

It is worth noting that enjoying the privilege of being India’s Number One Testing Platform, www.tcyonline.com has today over 2.70 lakh students in the age group of 13–32 years on its portal taking advantage of its various free resources — online tests ranging from CBSE to MBA to GRE and Medical/Engineering exams.

Talking of the CBSE, scores of practice tests are available on the website for the benefit of the school students.  As a gesture of goodwill, like previous years, TCYonline.com will also make available number of pre board tests for the February 2009 exam.

Student benchmarking being the hallmark of this web-portal, its recently launched two testing tools – the ‘Challenge Zone’ and the ‘Test Generator’ – are making good rounds among the academic community.

Being the free website for the students, the portal has also found great favour with some schools, colleges and universities in the country. Of late, some academic institutions have shown keen interest in TCYonline.com’s elite testing platform.

TCYonline.com’s exhaustive and free material catering to all the major national and international exams coupled with technology-enabled tools is not only becoming a rage amongst students but is also catching the eye of educational institutions and other companies.

A huge student base and separate exam categories on the website provide a perfect platform for educational institutions to showcase their offerings to prospective students. With continuous product innovation and technological upgradation taking place every second, this platform offers a host of opportunities to education institutions in India and abroad, virtually on a platter.

While it is heartening to note that TCYonline.com is crossing the five-lakh registration mark during the next few months, the web-portal gives education bodies an opportunity to describe their programs, organize mock tests and virtual education fairs. Moreover, the students can gain by asking questions and interacting with the university representatives through an online chat facility.

TCYonline.com has in a way squeezed the whole world to such an extent that a now a student sitting in any part of the world, say in the US or Canada, can prepare for any international entrance exam like GRE or GMAT or TOEFL.  Practice tests for all these entrance exams are available on the website free of cost.

All said and done, TCYonline.com has become the ‘testopedia’ of the modern student today. He can’t think of his life without it.

How is the revised GRE being scored?

Posted by TCYonline.com on April 21, 2007

For those dreaming of studying in America, there are few exams as important as the GRE. However, recent changes to the formats of the TOEFL and GRE have introduced an element of doubt and difficulty into the admission process. Performing well on these exams is seen as a pre-requisite for procuring admission to top US universities.

The Graduate Record Exam is offered domestically and internationally, administered by the American company ETS. Last month, it announced the most significant changes to the exam in its 57 years history. The design has been altered to:

• Make the GRE more test-taker friendly.
• Reduce the security risk arising from too much exposure to test questions.
• Make the Verbal section easier and Quantitative section challenging in order to balance their levels of difficulty.
• Ensure better and more accurate measurement of graduate skills.

Hence, the focus should shift towards gradually acquiring skills and away from cramming and memorisation. However, preparation for the exam may be fruitless unless one understands the evaluation parameters and, most importantly, the evaluation scale. The new scoring scales are as follows:

~ 3-digit scores

The overall GRE score will be in 3 digits. It will no longer be out of a possible 1600 (800 each in Quantitative and Verbal Sections).

~ New score range

The new sectional scores range between 130* and 170*. The purpose of this is to bring the average score per section near 150*. The older scale suffered from clustering of the Verbal score around 470* and of the Quantitative score near 593*. (* Taken from the ETS web site)

~ Score increments

The score will increase with 1-point increments compared to the 10-point increments of the existing format.

~ Score validity

There has been no change in the validity of scores. The score will still be valid for 5 years. In order to protect the validity of the existing GRE score, a concordance table will be available in November 2007 at the ETS Web site.

~ Percentiles

In addition to the individual score, the GRE now offers percentile scores for initial administrations. This will aid both students and destination institutions interpret the score. Additionally, score equivalents will be offered in order to demonstrate the difference between the current and new scoring system.

~ AW score scale remains unchanged

The Analytical writing score scale is left unchanged, but written responses will now be available to universities so they are able to compare a candidate’s written answers with his or her personal information. This will constrain candidates from outsourcing admission information (SOP) through private professional bodies.

~ Availability of score scale

The new scale will be available to students in fall 2007 after the first three administrations of the test.

A format of the new score report (format adopted from ETS web site) IS as under:

**Hypothetical test dates