GMAT Focus Official Exam - Problems with algorithm?

Question

Guys, I need help! Has anyone else taken the GMAT Focus exam and found the score to be strange?

I did a mock test before taking the exam with a score of 685 (Q86 DI83 V83) the biggest problem is that I took the exam and got 585 (Q79 DI75 V83). What bothers me most is that I only got 3 questions wrong in the quant part of the exam and my score is 79 and 59%, whereas in the mock exam I got Q86 92% and I only got 2 questions wrong. Does anyone know if I can have my grade reviewed?

I answered all the questions, in fact I managed to finish the test with time to spare and I revised one question in quant I had doubts about (the 10th, I changed it from incorrect to correct).

MartyMurray · Answer

Q79 with three missed questions is pretty brutal scoring. They could have been relatively easy questions though, in which case missing them would be expected to hurt your score significantly.

Which questions were they in the numerical order?

gbatalha · Answer

I got the 1st, 12th and last one wrong. It seems pretty brutal to me too..

MartyMurray · Answer

It's a good bet the 1st question was pretty easy. Regarding the others, who knows ...

It's probably worth contacting GMAC about the score. Most likely, they won't change it, but I've seen a score changed before when a scoring issue was discovered.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi gbatalha,

I got an Q 81% score with 3 mistakes (all, surprisingly, towards the end). I’ve also seen ESRs where just 1 mistake in quant leads to a massive drop in score (to < 80%). I believe this is partly because the Focus edition has fewer questions than the previous version of the GMAT.

You can reach out to customer support on mba.com chat/email, but you’ll most likely get a standard response that all scores are verified twice (once at the centre, and once directly by GMAC).

JeffTargetTestPrep · Answer

A 59th percentile quant score for only 3 incorrect answers seems extreme!
It definitely emphasizes the importance of eliminating  all  silly mistakes!

juhiyaaf · Answer

GMAT FE First Attempt- 635
Q78
V87
DI79

I faced a similar issue. Gave my exam just a couple days ago and got 635 but can’t understand why I got such a less score in quant when I had completed all the questions and was pretty confident with the answers as well. I checked the score card and noticed I had made only 3 mistakes in Quant(2nd, 12th and 18th), yet got such a low score. 
Can anyone help me understand why and how I can avoid this next time?

bb · Answer

Wow. That is super annoying. I am sorry 😞 1. Do you have a screenshot by chance? Just remove your name or any other personal detail from the screenshot. 2. I am looking to talk to GMAC about this strange scoring issues. Would you be open if I share your screenshot with them? P.S. There is a collection of these terrible experiences unfortunately now: https://gmatclub.com/forum/horrible-gma ... 34958.html

juhiyaaf · Answer

Sure, will send you a personal message.

FG25 · Answer

I've just had the same Issue.

Retook the GMAT after scoring Q87 the first time around with 2 errors.

This time I got q79 with three errors on questions 3,13 and 19. I'm really confused, especially since I'm sure the 13th question was a pretty tough one that I deliberately left for the sake of time.

I'm thinking about getting in touch with them, seems pretty harsh and inconsistent. An 8-point score drop for just one extra error seems harsh, even if it was an error on an easy question.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi FG25,

Although I don't think they'll change your score, it's still a good idea to let them know about this.

musaraza175 · Answer

With 3 incorrect answers I have gotten a Q76 a 37th percentile score.

Missed questions are 6, 17 and 21. Is this extremely unfair can anything be done?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi musaraza175,

Is this on the actual GMAT, and did you change any answers using review and edit?

Unfortunately, I don't think GMAC will do anything here, but you should still reach out and let them know.

musaraza175 · Answer

Yes this is actual GMAT. Yes I did change 2 answers from incorrect to correct. Does this make a difference? The 2 questions I did wrong were med to hard, not the easy ones out there, and the 3rd one I got wrong i am not sure about it.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi musaraza175,

This is speculation, but it may have some effect. For example, if a test taker gets some of the early questions wrong, question difficulty may go down. This in turn means that they'll have less margin for error (higher penalty for mistakes because the questions are easier). GMAC may have also put measures in place to stop people from trying to game the new GMAT review and edit feature.

To give you another data point, I got a Q83 with 3 mistakes (#9, #15, #21). I did not change any of my answers.

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