Prepare for the GMAT | The Official GMAT Blog

The GMAT Official Blog Answers Your Questions

Posted on December 11, 2012 by GMAC

We are ready to answer your questions about the GMAT exam. Below are questions we recently answered from students via our social media channels.

Question: Does the GMAT exam have a fixed number of questions which would be asked for each subsection of the Verbal section? Is there a set number of Sentence Correction, Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning? Is this also the case for Quant? Will there be a fixed number of questions for Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency?

Official GMAT: Every exam includes a fixed number of scored questions of each type. Scored questions are those that count toward your score. However, you may receive a varying number of total questions of each type because pre-test (experimental) questions that do not count are also included in the examination.

Question: Say a candidate is really strong in Critical Reasoning and answers a bunch of 700-800 level CR question correctly. Does this mean the subsequent Sentence Correction and Reading Comprehension questions he receives will also be in the 700-800 level? Or is each question type judged independently? Meaning there could be a situation where the candidate receives 700-800 level questions in Critical Reasoning (because he’s strong there) but at the same time he receives 500-600 level questions in Sentence Correction and Reading Comprehension because he is weak there?

Updated* Official GMAT: If you’ve taken a practice test, you probably noticed that the question types are not all grouped together. After each question you answer, the computer updates your score to the section and chooses the next question. The difficulty is not tracked separately for question types – it is selected based on your current score. So, if you have 700-800 level CR question, then whether you answer it right or wrong can affect the difficulty of the next question, regardless of whether that next question happens to be Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction, or Reading Comprehension.

Question: On my GMAT exam that I took a couple of months back I scored a 50 in the quant section. On my official score report my quant percentile was reported as 92%. However on the latest percentile rankings, I’ve noticed that a quant score of 50 now corresponds to a percentile of 90% . Right now if I send my score reports to schools , what will my quant percentile be?

Official GMAT: Congratulations on your GMAT score! You did really well! To answer your question, the percentile ranking charts are updated in January with the most recent percentile rankings. Schools will typically refer to the most recent percentile ranking chart, regardless of when you sent your scores. I hope that helps!

Have a question about the GMAT exam? Ask us in the comments below. Or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Beat the GMAT, GMATClub or PaGalGuy!

Filed under: GMAT Prep, Official GMAT, Prepare for the GMAT | 8 Comments »

Behind the Scenes: Guarding Against Bias

Posted on October 1, 2012 by GMAC

By: Lawrence M. Rudner

When I first took the GMAT exam in 1989, almost all test takers were American or English-speaking Canadian citizens seeking to attend school in North America. Back then, GMAC did not need to be concerned about native English speakers having an unfair advantage. Today, however, slightly more than half of GMAT test takers are non-US citizens, and we recognize the importance of providing a test that is fair, valid and reliable for all test takers, regardless of their native language.

A fair and reliable test means that all individuals of the same ability should get the same score. It does not suggest that the averages by native language should be approximately equal. Sorry, Argentina, your extremely high mean GMAT Total score does not mean that you are smarter than the rest of us or that the GMAT exam is biased in your favor. It may just mean that in Argentina only those very qualified for management study actually take the test.

Yes, the GMAT test is administered in English and is designed for programs that teach in English. But the exam requires just enough English to allow us to adequately and comprehensively assess Verbal reasoning, Quantitative reasoning and Integrated Reasoning skills. Although the GMAT exam is not a grammar test, it is worth noting that grammar tests do not necessarily favor native speakers, because non-native speakers often learn grammar better than native speakers who go by the “sounds right” rule. I was once turned down for a job as an English language instructor in Italy because my spoken English contained grammatical mistakes.

GMAC has systems in place to avoid bias in favor of native speakers, which can happen several ways:

Using vocabulary, idioms, and constructions that are not universal. My favorite example is skimmed milk. In India, toned milk and double toned milk are common, and skimmed milk is rare. Vacation and holiday, and quite and very, are other examples. Also under this category are double negatives (The GMAT is not unfair), contractions (should’ve), abbreviations (for example, e.g.), imperatives, possessives, and some sentence structures (Do you have a pencil? Have you a pencil?).
Using culturally loaded phrases, idioms, and constructions. Most people who grew up in North America would probably know what is meant by a Mickey Mouse job (a job that is trivial and a waste of time), the whole nine yards (everything), or skedaddle (depart quickly). Also under this category are military terms (your mission), sports terms (game plan), colloquialisms (lots more), regional terms (pop, hoagie), metaphors (launch an idea), euphemisms (under the weather), clichés (between a rock and a hard place), literary references (wears his heart on his sleeve), US cultural references (Big Mac), acronyms (ASAP), and initials (IRS).
Using culturally offensive phrases, idioms, and constructions. This includes the use of ethnic slurs, derogatory terms, positive and negative stereotypes, and references that rely on or ignore belief systems (drinking alcohol, eating pork).

Culturally based, loaded, and offensive terms do not always result in differences in performance, but we do not want test takers to be distracted by culturally insensitive questions. We carefully review our questions using criteria defining good item construction. We also compute statistics to assess whether our questions are appropriate across culture groups. We constantly update guidelines for our item writers, including a master list of terms and phrases to avoid, in order to assure cultural fairness.

By using carefully defined and thorough item development and review processes, along with statistical analyses to flag questions with possible cultural bias, we have developed a test that minimizes the impact of culture and language. The GMAT exam is the best objective measure of the likelihood of success in management programs across the globe.

Lawrence M. Rudner, PhD, MBA, is vice president of research and development and chief psychometrician for the Graduate Management Admission Council. This blog post is condensed and re-edited from a Demystifying the GMAT column that originally ran in Graduate Management News in July 2012.

Filed under: Admissions, Diversity, Official GMAT, Prepare for the GMAT | 3 Comments »

Calling all European GMAT test takers! Win an exclusive Q&A with a senior admissions professional from a top European MBA business school!

Posted on September 27, 2012 by GMAC

What would you ask an admissions professional from a top MBA school if you had them on the phone for thirty minutes? Would you want to know how to prepare for your business school interview or what kind of experience you should be highlighting? Would you want to ask about how to write a stand out personal statement or how to make an impact with your recommendation letter?

We’re offering one lucky GMAT test taker the chance to ask these questions and more in our exclusive Facebook competition where one lucky entrant will win the chance to have a one-on-one discussion with a senior admissions professional from a top MBA business school AND an iPad.

If you’re a GMAT test taker in Europe, all you need to do is send us a short video clip telling us your best study tips for the GMAT exam. What you include in your video is totally up to you but maybe tell us how you have structured your exam preparation, how you have organised the time or how you have balanced your study with your social life. Tell us which sections you are spending the most time preparing for or when you started preparing. Use a smartphone or webcam to record a short clip lasting no more than one minute and simply upload to our competition page on the GMAT Facebook page. Overall, the whole process should take you less than ten minutes and could end up with you getting invaluable advice that will help you on your way to getting into your dream business school.

The deadline for entries closes soon so click on this link and follow the simple instructions to upload your clip. All runners up will receive a GMAT voucher to the value of €250.

Good luck!

Filed under: Admissions, Prepare for the GMAT, Study Tips for the GMAT | 1 Comment »

Study Smart for Your Best GMAT

Posted on April 19, 2012 by GMAC

How can you best prepare for the GMAT® exam? The answer to that is as simple and straightforward as it is unique to you. There are no magic formulas, tricks, or “one size fits all” answers—just planning, preparation, and devoting sufficient time to becoming familiar with the exam.

We can’t tell you how much time you should spend studying for the GMAT exam, but we can tell you how much time other people have spent preparing to take the exam. Using data collected last year from more than 8,000 GMAT test takers, we can see that 49% of test takers spend at least 51 hours prepping for the exam, and those who do better on the GMAT tend to spend more time studying for it.

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Filed under: GMAT Prep, Official GMAT, Prepare for the GMAT, Study Tips for the GMAT | 6 Comments »