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Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
12 Sep 2021, 04:03
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Hello experts,
I recently took the GMAT Prep test #5 and ended up scoring a V36.
The following is the list of questions that I have answered incorrectly: Q15, 17, 23, 25, 27 and 34). So a total of 6 incorrect out of 36 with NONE of them being the first 10 questions!
Now, I do understand that the number of correct/incorrect answers does not reflect my final score but I was honestly expecting to score at least a V40 based on my performance. One thing that I observed was that in spite of getting the first 14 questions in a row correct, I did not feel that the there was any increase in the question difficulty level. (In fact, my first wrong answer (Q15) was part of an RC passage which according to GMAT Club was a mere 600-700 level passage. I also understand that the difficulty level of a question presented in GMAT Club could very well be totally different from what the GMAT Prep software perceives.)
Having said that, what I cannot understand is HOW is it that in spite of getting so many questions right, I was still getting questions that were relatively simple (definitely not 700 level) even towards the end of my test? Felt like the software wasn't even adaptive. If I get a string of questions right, shouldn't I be getting harder level questions since my score is now in the higher band? It felt like it was always asking me easy questions and getting them right didn't have much impact on my final score.
Experts can you please help me understand this?
GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo egmat VeritasKarishma
Thank you.
I recently took the GMAT Prep test #5 and ended up scoring a V36.
The following is the list of questions that I have answered incorrectly: Q15, 17, 23, 25, 27 and 34). So a total of 6 incorrect out of 36 with NONE of them being the first 10 questions!
Now, I do understand that the number of correct/incorrect answers does not reflect my final score but I was honestly expecting to score at least a V40 based on my performance. One thing that I observed was that in spite of getting the first 14 questions in a row correct, I did not feel that the there was any increase in the question difficulty level. (In fact, my first wrong answer (Q15) was part of an RC passage which according to GMAT Club was a mere 600-700 level passage. I also understand that the difficulty level of a question presented in GMAT Club could very well be totally different from what the GMAT Prep software perceives.)
Having said that, what I cannot understand is HOW is it that in spite of getting so many questions right, I was still getting questions that were relatively simple (definitely not 700 level) even towards the end of my test? Felt like the software wasn't even adaptive. If I get a string of questions right, shouldn't I be getting harder level questions since my score is now in the higher band? It felt like it was always asking me easy questions and getting them right didn't have much impact on my final score.
Experts can you please help me understand this?
GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo egmat VeritasKarishma
Thank you.
12 Sep 2021, 14:29
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That does seem a bit harsh, shreyasshenoy, but I can speak to the adaptiveness of the exam. Contrary to what many people believe, the exam does NOT adjust on a pure question-by-question basis, so you can get a string of, say, 9 questions in a row, which would represent a quarter of the Verbal section, without seeing a significant increase in question difficulty. How? Take the following question layout, for example:
1. CR
2. SC
3. CR
4. RC
5. RC
6. RC
7. RC
8. SC
9. SC
Now, the RC passage is the first of this particular test, so its questions might be more or less fixed. Your answers to those questions have no bearing on the subsequent SC questions. Regarding SC, since only question 2 was such a question, perhaps question 8 is pretty much the same, in terms of difficulty, to ensure that the correct answer to question 2 was not an anomaly; question 9 might be slightly harder or not, since the sample size of SC questions up to that point is relatively small. The same can be said of the two CR questions. The GMAT™ is an exam that punishes mistakes on lower-level questions more than it rewards correct answers on harder ones. If you want to focus on streaks, see what your breakdown looks like within each question type. My guess is that the results will seem less farfetched than before.
I like to say that no one disputes that missing fewer questions leads to a higher score. Right now, you are 6 questions away from perfection. Focus on pulling back those questions one by one. You are clearly doing a lot right to make so few errors, and building a positive mindset while gaining forward momentum may make all the difference.
Good luck with your preparation.
- Andrew
1. CR
2. SC
3. CR
4. RC
5. RC
6. RC
7. RC
8. SC
9. SC
Now, the RC passage is the first of this particular test, so its questions might be more or less fixed. Your answers to those questions have no bearing on the subsequent SC questions. Regarding SC, since only question 2 was such a question, perhaps question 8 is pretty much the same, in terms of difficulty, to ensure that the correct answer to question 2 was not an anomaly; question 9 might be slightly harder or not, since the sample size of SC questions up to that point is relatively small. The same can be said of the two CR questions. The GMAT™ is an exam that punishes mistakes on lower-level questions more than it rewards correct answers on harder ones. If you want to focus on streaks, see what your breakdown looks like within each question type. My guess is that the results will seem less farfetched than before.
I like to say that no one disputes that missing fewer questions leads to a higher score. Right now, you are 6 questions away from perfection. Focus on pulling back those questions one by one. You are clearly doing a lot right to make so few errors, and building a positive mindset while gaining forward momentum may make all the difference.
Good luck with your preparation.
- Andrew
12 Sep 2021, 17:25
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AndrewN
This answer seems to imply that the test adapts by question type. That is, SC question difficulty is only determined by previous SC questions answered, and that RC has no bearing on SC difficulty. If I have misinterpreted, please let me know. If I have not, I am 99% certain that the difficulty adaptions are not made per question-type.
