How well a test-taker does on the first scored section slots them into either the upper, middle, or lower-third percentile of test-takers. Their performance on the second section further specifies their percentile, and thus, their scaled score.

Grinnell College

The first scored verbal reasoning or quantitative reasoning section a test-taker completes is of average difficulty based on previous years' results. However, the difficulty of the second scored section is dependent on how the test-taker did on the first. For example, if a test-taker gets the majority of the questions correct on the first section, the second section will be more difficult. 

GRE Section-level Adaptation

ETS (n.d.). How the Test Is Scored. https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/how/

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