Experimental Question Types: Combinatorics & Work-Rate Mostly?

Hello, tomiant. I suspect there is something of a confirmation bias at work here. I imagine that students will not see a ton of combinatorics questions because one or two questions would suffice to test that area of mathematical knowledge, and since many test-takers find combinatorics in particular to be rather difficult, they might or might not see any of those questions on their test, particularly if they are not scoring at a higher level. That is, perhaps GMAC™ has more Hard questions on combinatorics in its database, since its question difficulties are based on normed test-taker data (mostly from previous exams on non-scored questions). Although I know test prep companies and private tutors are always on the lookout for inside information, I am skeptical that someone with the potential to earn, say, an 800 (and use such a score for advertising purposes) would deliberately miss certain types of questions just to test a theory about which areas of mathematics would not be scored. Regarding work-rate problems, I have seen those run the gamut of difficulty levels, from Easy to Hard, so I see no reason why that particular type of problem could not be integrated into a scored exam, regardless of how the test-taker might be performing.

I think it would be wise to take this supposed knowledge of the test and maybe take a little pressure off yourself on those question types. If there is an iota of truth in the claim, then you might feel better about not wasting time on a problem that you feel is over your head, and that sort of mental edge can make a difference in your score.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew