United States
Hong KongUsing a GRE score instead of the General Knowledge Test
GRE Verbal Reasoning at 151 satisfies the English Language Skills and Reading subtests, Quantitative Reasoning at 147 satisfies Mathematics, and Analytical Writing at a combined 4 out of 6 satisfies the essay. The GRE has the earliest cutoff of the four alternatives: administrations from 1 July 2015.
The GRE is the alternative most often held by the people who need it least, and most often forgotten by the people who need it most. Anyone who applied to a master's program in the last decade probably has one. Career changers moving into teaching from another graduate field are the group we would check first.
It also has the most generous cutoff date in the rule.
The three measures
| General Knowledge subtest | GRE measure | Minimum score |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (825) | Analytical Writing | A combined score of 4 out of 6 |
| English Language Skills (826) | Verbal Reasoning | 151 |
| Reading (827) | Verbal Reasoning | 151 |
| Mathematics (828) | Quantitative Reasoning | 147 |
Transcribed from Rule 6A-4.0021(12), which names the GRE Revised General Test. Verbal Reasoning at 151 does double duty. Analytical Writing is the only measure in the whole provision that maps a written score onto the written subtest, which makes intuitive sense in a way the SAT and ACT mappings do not.
The date that makes the GRE different
The rule accepts GRE administrations conducted on or after 1 July 2015. SAT, ACT and CLT administrations only count from 1 March 2016. That eight-month difference is real and it is the one place the GRE beats the others outright. The second condition still applies: the score must have been earned during the ten years immediately preceding application and qualification for a certificate, unless law or rule says otherwise.
Those two conditions interact in a way worth thinking about. A GRE from just after the July 2015 cutoff satisfies the first condition permanently and the second one only for a while. If your GRE is old enough to be near the edge of that ten-year window, use it now or plan on the subtests.
What the score report looks like
ETS reports Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning as scaled scores, and Analytical Writing separately on a half-point scale topping out at 6. Percentile ranks sit beside each. Florida reads the scaled scores and ignores the percentiles, which matters because 151 on Verbal Reasoning is a middling percentile and looks unimpressive next to a competitive graduate application. The rule does not care how you compare to other test takers.
Analytical Writing is described in the rule as a combined score of 4 out of 6. Your report gives one Analytical Writing figure. Read it against 4.
Sending it
Official scores go to the Bureau of Educator Certification through ETS, as part of your certification file. Not to Pearson, not to the FTCE registration site. The Department decides whether a particular score qualifies in a particular file, and the rule is explicit that these are minimum scores that may be used rather than an automatic exemption.
ETS holds reportable scores for a limited period, and once a score is past that window you cannot have an official report sent at all. That is an ETS policy rather than a Florida one and it can bite before the rule's ten-year condition does. Check what ETS still holds for you before you assume the score is available.
Would we sit the GRE to avoid the FTCE?
No, and this is the clearest case of the four. The GRE costs many times what a full FTCE battery costs, runs far longer, and requires preparation in question types the General Knowledge Test never asks about. USD 130 covers all four General Knowledge subtests. Nothing about that arithmetic favors sitting a graduate admissions test you do not otherwise need.
Use a GRE you already have. Do not go and get one.
The partial case
Common among candidates from quantitative backgrounds: Quantitative Reasoning clears 147 comfortably, Verbal Reasoning lands below 151. That covers Mathematics, which happens to be the subtest with the longest clock at 100 minutes and the one people fear most, and leaves three subtests at USD 97.50.
The mirror case is more awkward. A humanities graduate with Verbal Reasoning above 151 and Analytical Writing above 4 has covered three subtests and is left sitting Mathematics alone, which is the one they were dreading. The exemption does not always relieve the part you want relieved.
Common questions
What GRE score replaces the FTCE General Knowledge Test?
Analytical Writing at a combined 4 out of 6 covers the essay, Verbal Reasoning at 151 covers English Language Skills and Reading, and Quantitative Reasoning at 147 covers Mathematics. Administrations must be on or after 1 July 2015 under Rule 6A-4.0021(12).
Why does the GRE have an earlier cutoff date than the SAT?
The rule simply sets them differently: 1 July 2015 for the GRE and 1 March 2016 for the SAT, ACT and CLT. Rule 6A-4.0021(12) gives no reasoning for the gap. It is the one respect in which a GRE is more useful than an SAT here.
Do GRE percentile ranks matter?
No. Florida reads the scaled scores on Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing. A score of 151 on Verbal Reasoning satisfies the rule regardless of how it compares to other test takers, which is why an unremarkable graduate score can still be useful here.
Should I take the GRE to avoid the FTCE?
No. The GRE costs far more than USD 130 for the full General Knowledge battery, runs much longer, and tests material the FTCE never asks about. The alternative-score route is for scores you already hold, not a reason to sit a graduate admissions test.
My GRE is more than ten years old. Can I still use it?
Probably not. Rule 6A-4.0021(12) requires the minimum score to have been earned during the ten years immediately preceding application and qualification for a certificate, unless law or rule stipulates otherwise. ETS may also no longer report a score that old.