GMAT Prep Software Tests - Something wrong in scoring?

Question

Hi guys, This is my first post in the forum

I took the GMAT Prep Exam 4 a few days ago and scored a low score of 570 (Q-40 V-28). However, I was a bit confused about how I got scored on this test from the analysis I made from the no.of questions I got correct, % of questions I got correct and where I made those mistakes. I took a look at my mistakes and there were some silly errors that I could have avoided. I understand that we can never predict the GMAT scoring algorithm but something looks strange. With just 13 questions wrong in Quant, my score fell drastically to a 40? Also I've got only ~2 questions wrong in my first 10 questions in quant and verbal. Is there something wrong here? Should I be worried about the score. Was the test a bit too harsh on the scoring? Please advice. To give you a better understanding - My mistakes were as follows: Quant: Total 13 incorrect (Missed ques - 1, 2, 12, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 35, 36, 37) Verbal: Total 15 incorrect (Missed ques - 4, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 25, 27, 28, 30, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40) My analysis: % correct: PS - 60%, DS - 74%, SC - 77%, CR - 45%, RC - 62% (Inspite of this my RC score was 21!!) Looking forward to your advice Thanks!

abhalla06 · Answer

bb  looking forward to your advice!

nishantd88 · Answer

Number of correct answers is not an accurate indicator of why the score fell. The difficulty level of the questions you get wrong will determine how much the score will fall.

So someone who gets 10 easy questions wrong will have a lower score than someone who gets 10 difficult questions wrong.

abhalla06 · Answer

Thanks Nishant. In quant I got 2-3 easy questions, 5-6 medium level questions and 3-4 hard qustions wrong. That probably explains the drop. However, is it also because of the no. of questions that you get wrong in a row that has led to the drop? In quant I got 4 wrong in a row (19-22) and 3 wrong towards the end (35-37). However, I've also got 12 correct in the row (4-16) in this section at the beginning of the test. I've always heard that the first 10 are very important. Also if i miss an easy question, do I need to obtain 12 questions correctly to get back to score that I was at? That sounds a bit strange. Just a little confused here.

abhimahna · Answer

Yes, that is correct. Getting wrong questions in row punishes you very badly. So, you should avoid doing that. It is not about getting those 12 questions correct. Since you had few questions incorrect in a row, you are prevented from getting higher level questions at the end. Hence, your end score was impacted.

If you could share the ESR, that would be helpful to provide more analysis.

abhalla06 · Answer

Thanks abhimahna!

This was a GMAT Prep test 4. Just to understand correctly, do you like me to share the quant and verbal performance scores? (ESR)

abhimahna · Answer

It is always advisable to provide the ESRs to get proper analysis.

Hatakekakashi · Answer

Hi there , 
 GMAT prep is the closest to the Actual GMAT .

The first question of the quant section happens to be the easiest and you have missed out on that . Which lowered the difficulty for you and the second question was of an even lower level and you missed that , hence the low score. 19-22 4 mistakes in a row. It hits you a lot doesn't it?

In the verbal section , most of the questions towards the end are wrong , that further decreases your score.

My advice is stop focusing on the scoring algorithm. Start focusing on improving concepts. I'm sure you'll join the 700 club

Cheers

abhalla06 · Answer

Thanks Hatakekakashi for your detailed response. I wrote the GMAT Prep 3 test and got a score of 650 (Q-46 and V-34). Now what is strange here is that I got 17 errors wrong in both sections! I must add that I did this test sometime ago (few months) and some questions were repeated so the score is definitely inflated to my performance level. However, the GMAT alogorithm still perturbes me

I've got more mistakes and a chunk of errors (please see below). I dont know how to interpret such varied scores. Breakdown: Quant: PS - 46, DS - 44, Arithmatic - 47, Geom/Algebra - 42 Verbal: CR - 37, RC - 31, SC - 35 Errors: Quant: 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, 29, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37 Verbal: 2, 8, 9, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 (5 in row! yes 5 in a row!)

Hatakekakashi · Answer

Hi again ,
 As i have stated earlier , focus on improving your weak areas. The last questions you might have got wrong towards the end of the exam are experimental questions. If you solve them correctly/wrongly it wont add to your score , but if you do get it correct , chances are that you will surely increase the difficulty of questions.

Regards,
HK

PS - kudos if this helps

vikasp99 · Answer

GMAT prep tests are the close indicator of your ability.you just need one thing don't do wrong questions in a row.

laurentcalkoen · Answer

Hi guys I have a similar question.

I have done several practice tests from the GMAT prep software and the scores are all weird.

I got a 640 on one test with 32 total questions wrong..

Just did another test and got 550 but total 22 questions wrong.

Now for both exams the questions I got wrong were very similar in the spacing of correct/incorrect pattern.

So why the huge swing in score??

Btw I am still using the old software that has the longer length exams. If that makes any difference at all?

AjiteshArun · Answer

It's unlikely that the scores are wrong. It's just that the number of correct/incorrect answers is not usually a very good indicator of performance. What you should do is look for broad trends and discard any information based on only a few tests/questions.

Gmat800Champ · Answer

Please let me know if you find some clue to this. I am also planning to give my mock soon and I want to do well.

RefError · Answer

My GMAT Prep exams were higher than my real one!

	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

GMAT Prep Software Tests - Something wrong in scoring?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards