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bb
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GMAT Focus Algorithm Updated on: 05 Oct 2023, 21:55
Originally posted by bb on 27 Sep 2023, 20:49.
Last edited by bb on 05 Oct 2023, 21:55, edited 3 times in total.
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How GMAT Focus Algorithm Works ...

Edit: I had to remove some of my initial data points as they were based on incorrect data. It appears the algorithm is still question-level adaptive. My initial observations lead me to believe that adaptability was very subdued. That proved to be not the case.


The only thing I can still relate to is that the scoring seems to have been updated. "I missed 5 questions, why did I get V33" type of questions will be a thing of the past now. Running correlation between number of wrong answers (adjusted for difficulty) and score, provides an R Square of 94.9 in my calculations (based on a modest sample so far) But many aspects point to a more linear relationship between mistakes and scores. This makes things easier to benchmark.

Thank you OfficialGMAT for chiming in :thumbsup:
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 04 Oct 2023, 12:52
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Hi bb,
These are great questions, and we love to see the enthusiasm and curiosity around learning about GMAT Focus Edition so that candidates can feel prepared when taking it. We want to take the opportunity to stress that the GMAT Focus Edition is indeed adaptive, and several improvements have been made to the GMAT Focus CAT algorithm.

We spoke with the brains behind the exam about some of your questions and they explained one of the changes was: updating the item selection algorithm to optimize multiple factors, including (but not limited to) item difficulty, item information, and item usage, when choosing the next best item for a candidate.

What does this mean for test-takers?
This is an improvement over the previous version of GMAT exam item selection algorithm that considers only item difficulty with no optimization of test information. It also results in greater score precision and greater score reliability per item given candidate’s ability level.

Overall, this enhancement allowed us to shorten the length of GMAT Focus Edition while retaining the high level of score reliability. The adaptive nature of the exam is not affected by the new Question Review & Edit feature.

If you have more questions about the exam, you can always reach us on our OfficialGMAT channels and you can learn more about GMAT Focus Edition at https://www.mba.com/focus-edition
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 04 Oct 2023, 14:14
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Hi, and thank you for your on-point reply.

Does it mean, perhaps, factors such as the following:

  • the difficulty level of the question you pick right or wrong.
  • the time to spend replying to a question.
  • the number of questions.
  • what kind of questions: probability or a tricky algebra question.......

Are taken into account by the algorithm?

Regards
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 04 Oct 2023, 20:22
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Thank yo for the reply. I should be learning more about the algorithm soon I guess.

I would be interested in understanding how the algorithm manifests its adaptability. I have missed multiple questions in a row, now seeing any change to perceived difficulty. I kept getting hard questions and vice versa. Getting questions right, I kept getting easy questions on the section. Is this because adaptability is done in groups? or is it limited by availability of questions of a certain difficulty and therefore no matter how adaptive algorithm, there is only 1 question the system can serve me and thus that's what I get?
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 05 Oct 2023, 14:47
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Hi carcass
It does take things like that into account, and more! Check out Inside the GMAT Podcast #38 to learn more about the redesign of GMAT Focus on http://www.mba.com.
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 05 Oct 2023, 14:49
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Hi bb
While we would love to give you a peek at what’s behind the curtain, some of the answers to your questions would contain proprietary information on adaptive algorithms that form the core of our IP. It’s also not relevant to help candidates learn how they can perform their best on the exam. Our recommendation to test takers has always been that they should try to answer each question correctly no matter the order or type of question.

For more tips on how to best prepare and to take advantage of the redesigned GMAT Focus Edition, check out the Inside the GMAT podcast at https://start.mba.com/inside-the-gmat-podcast
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GMAT Focus Algorithm 05 Oct 2023, 15:18
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Hi bb
While we would love to give you a peek at what’s behind the curtain, some of the answers to your questions would contain proprietary information on adaptive algorithms that form the core of our IP. It’s also not relevant to help candidates learn how they can perform their best on the exam. Our recommendation to test takers has always been that they should try to answer each question correctly no matter the order or type of question.

For more tips on how to best prepare and to take advantage of the redesigned GMAT Focus Edition, check out the Inside the GMAT podcast at https://start.mba.com/inside-the-gmat-podcast

The above part underlined makes super sense to me. Thank you also for the podcast advice. I will

Kindly regards

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GMAT Focus Algorithm 05 Oct 2023, 21:48
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Hi bb
While we would love to give you a peek at what’s behind the curtain, some of the answers to your questions would contain proprietary information on adaptive algorithms that form the core of our IP. It’s also not relevant to help candidates learn how they can perform their best on the exam. Our recommendation to test takers has always been that they should try to answer each question correctly no matter the order or type of question.

For more tips on how to best prepare and to take advantage of the redesigned GMAT Focus Edition, check out the Inside the GMAT podcast at https://start.mba.com/inside-the-gmat-podcast


Thank you for chiming in and pointing out the flawed assumption. I have gone back to some of my data and it looks like some of it was flawed and that lead me to the wrong conclusion. So I am wrong about the adaptability.

P.S. I have listened to the podcast for anyone interested.
There is a mention that the test is question adaptive. I have updated the first post appropriately.

So I will have to go back to the drawing board for the GMAT Club test focus algorithm. :(
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