Does the score make sense?

Question

Hi All,

I went for my GFE yesterday and got a score of 625. I was really disappointed because it said I got an 80 in Quant (66th percentile), even though during the test, I seemed to be getting everything right in Quant. I went through my official score details today and I noticed that I only got two questions wrong in Quant. Question 2 and 18.

Could getting two questions wrong really bring my score down to the 66th percentile? I just find it hard to believe. I got more wrong in the practice tests and scored more than this. I understand that the scoring is based on question difficulty. But surely 66th percentile is not right?

Any advice on what I can do about this? Or am I completely wrong here?

bb · Answer

Hi. Unfortunately unfortunately we have seen cases like this with even one question sometimes resulting in just a score of Q 80.

This is very annoying and the best explanation I could think of is that The composition of the test has an impact on the score, so they were serving mostly easy questions, even one mistake can be Fatal so to speak, Which I think is unfair because one of us mistake does not really determine your skill level.... But we have a debrief from a person with a single incorrect resulting into 80.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Check this post out: https://gmatclub.com/forum/only-1-q-wro ... 32984.html 😭 Posted from my mobile device

Saksham337 · Answer

Hey, thank you for your response! That is quite disheartening to learn. I read the post you linked here and it seems like there was no resolution at the end. So I guess I have to aim for 21/21 to even get to a good score in GMAT? Quite cruel

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

The Understanding Your Score page on the MBA website may provide some insight (it mentions "three factors" Quant scores are based on, for example). You could also check out debriefs by people who've scored Q80 to see the different types of performances that resulted in that section score. There is also some myth vs. fact info (e.g. in the beginning of the official-guide 2024) you may find interesting.

If you decide to retake, trying to identify the types of questions you found difficult or made careless errors on could be helpful.

5 Quant tips

If you decide to retake, trying to identify the types of questions you found difficult or made careless errors on could be helpful.

5 Quant tips

egmat · Answer

I'm sorry to hear that you received a lower score than expected,  Saksham337 . It's understandable that you're disappointed, especially given that you only got two questions wrong in the Quant section. This situation is indeed quite rare (although it has happened with a couple of our students and in other sections as well).I'm curious about your performance on mock tests. What scores were you typically achieving in your practice exams? This information could help provide some context for your official score.

Regarding the Quant section, I wanted to ask if you changed any of your answers during the test. Sometimes, such actions can lead to unexpected results.

It's important to note that while answering every question correctly is commendable, it's not always necessary to achieve a high percentile. In fact, some students have reported scoring in the 95th percentile despite making 3 mistakes. The scoring algorithm considers various factors, including question difficulty and the overall test pool performance.

The good news - an overwhelming majority of students who have scored low despite achieving high accuracy have done well in their next attempt. So .. fingers crossed!

-Rajat

Saksham337 · Answer

Hi, thank you. I did go through the guidelines and it didn't describe any such situation. From what I could gather from the other few cases similar to mine, this is not a common case. If I only got easy questions and was penalised for getting two wrong, then the whole 'adaptability' nature goes for a toss.

I will retake and work on getting a 21/21 this time to leave no room for error. I can't rely on their algorithm anymore to leave some leeway so have to work on my mistakes for sure.

Saksham337 · Answer

Hi Rajat, thank you for your kind response. 
I did change one response from incorrect to incorrect. 
I understand the scoring is based on various factors, however, it is not clear and it does not define such situations otherwise this would be a commanility rather than few odd cases.

My quant scores in practice exams (number of incorrect questions) are as follows: 80 (8 wrong), 81 (6 wrong), 80 (8 wrong), 88 (1 wrong), 76 (7 wrong), 83 (4 wrong). My previous GFE score in July: 83 (5 wrong). Let me know how this relates to the anamoly in question.

egmat · Answer

Thank you for providing your practice scores and previous GFE result,  Saksham337 . Looking at your practice scores and your previous GFE result, I can say that your recent score of 80 (66th percentile) with only two incorrect answers, while lower than expected, is not entirely out of line with your typical performance range. Your practice scores mostly fall between 76 and 83, with one outlier at 88.While you made fewer mistakes in this recent test, which is commendable, your score estimate doesn't seem vastly incorrect given your practice score range. This suggests that for your next attempt, you might want to focus on  improving your overall ability rather than  just aiming for perfect accuracy.

Moving forward, here's what I recommend:
 
 Analyze your Enhanced Score Report (ESR) in detail. This will help you identify specific areas where you can improve. 
 Based on the ESR analysis, focus on improving those identified areas. This might involve revisiting certain concepts, practicing specific question types, or working on your problem-solving strategies. 
 If you are an e-GMATer - reach out to the team to enroll in LM. We will create a custom plan for you. You can see the details of the plans and the kind of metrics we track here:  From 625 to 755: Sandipan's Inspiring GMAT Focus Edition Journey (e-gmat.com)

Bottom line: You need to focus on building your ability and performing consistently.

-Rajat

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