Three sections of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test were reviewed before the introduction of the restructured test in October, 1977: research on (1) the GRE-Verbal section; (2) the GRE-Quantitative section; and (3) a planned third section, measuring analytical thinking skills. Research in all three areas focused on test reliability, validity, difficulty, speededness, and equivalence of restructured and former test sections. The restructured verbal measure was shortened from 75 to 50 minutes, and included a long as well as a short reading comprehension passage. Research on the quantitative ability test involved combinations of three item types: regular mathematics, quantitative comparison, and data interpretation. The restructured test was reduced from 75 to 50 minutes, and contained about thirty quantitative comparison items in place of regular mathematics and data interpretation items. Seven new item types were evaluated for inclusion in the abstract/analytical reasoning test, based upon their difficulty, reliability, speededness, validity, appropriateness for all college majors, efficiency, and independence from the other two tests. Three of the seven item types were accepted for use in the new GRE: analytical reasoning, logical diagrams, and analysis of explanations. (GDC)