GMAT Scoring annoys me...

Question

So, I took the official GMAT prep test 1 and scored 720 q48v40 a score I'd be excited about on test day.

When reviewing what I got incorrect, i noticed in Quant I got 10 out of 37 wrong, but in verbal I only got 6 out of 41 wrong.

In order to score very high on verbal it seems like you need to have an almost flawless test, but in Quant theres more room for error. Its annoying...

Either way, I'd be happy with a 40 in verbal but the scoring just seems off. Also, 10 wrong on quant and still pulling a 48 seems tough to do aswell... I thought I did horrible on quant once it was over, I knew I missed a decent amount.

the questions wrong on Q were 1,5,7,9, 17,18,19 ,25,29,33
so 3 in a row there..
with V they were 6,11,21,30,36,37 on 2 in a row towards the end

I know the scoring algorithm is unknown... but bleh annoying.

highwyre237 · Answer

just took MGMAT #5, scored a 44 on verbal with 11 wrong... I feel MGMAT gives you a bit more room to make up for wrong answers on verbal.

I am 100% not expecting 44 on verbal...

GMATLA · Answer

I think we can all understand your frustration, but just leave it behind you. You're ONLY job is to get every questions YOU can get right. That's it. Don't try to learn the algo, or understand how it works, or what # problem is better to get right or wrong. Just go in there, look at every problem as an opportunity to increase your score, and pound it into the ground. Don't worry about the scoring. Any energy or frustration pointed towards that, is just energy that you could direct towards getting an 800. Not to mention, its not only about the # of questions you get wrong, but the difficulty level (which you will never know!).

You look to be scoring strong, so every ounce of your energy put towards correct answers has the potential to push your score HIGH into the 700 club. Good luck!

You look to be scoring strong, so every ounce of your energy put towards correct answers has the potential to push your score HIGH into the 700 club. Good luck!

IanStewart · Answer

You should not be comparing your raw scaled scores in V and Q. Verbal scores tend to be far lower than Quant scores, on average. What matters in determining your /800 score is how you compare to the testing population. So you should convert your scaled scores to percentiles, and compare your percentile rankings (you can find percentile charts in the back of any Official Guide). With a Q48/V40, you have excellent scores in both sections, but even though it doesn't look that way, you're actually slightly better in Verbal than in Quant, just because Verbal scores in the 40s are so rare.

IJR · Answer

The only thing I can say is that the scoring is equally bizarre for everyone, so as frustrating as it is to you, it is just as frustrating and confusing to everyone else. There's not much you can do about it, so I would try my best not to worry about it and just study as hard as possible.

LadyRoadWarrior · Answer

I TOTALLY went down this road! (and also got some GMATprep scores of 48Q 40V). I feel your pain.
I always knew that my verbal would be stronger than my quant but kept trying to understand the logic as to why I could get the same number of quant questions wrong and get a 42, 45, or 48 subscore. Maddening.

Then I stopped driving myself crazy about the algo. My conclusion:
If I'm only scoring 48 in quant, there's no way I'm personally going to crack the code here :lol:

Focus on your weak areas, celebrate your strong ones, and go out there and demolish the exam.

... by the way... on the real exam I have absolutely no idea how many questions I got right or wrong... just that I am happy with my 740.

Focus on your weak areas, celebrate your strong ones, and go out there and demolish the exam. ... by the way... on the real exam I have absolutely no idea how many questions I got right or wrong... just that I am happy with my 740.

ryantmc84 · Answer

I feel your pain, and as the scores move higher the disparity gets worse. I took the GMATPrep and scored a 770(Q49, V47). I missed 11 in quant and only 2 in verbal. I would say, though, that with sufficient practice using only practice problems from the official guide and verbal supplement, you should begin to develop consistency with the verbal questions. Patterns begin to emerge and the correct answers seem to just off the page after a while. I think using other prep materials for verbal can dampen that effect and lead to more variability in performance between exams.

That said, I am with Ian, your score and split between verbal and quant are excellent, as is.

That said, I am with Ian, your score and split between verbal and quant are excellent, as is.

highwyre237 · Answer

So I had a long break since taking the gmat preps so I figured I'd give them a shot again. Didnt remember any of the questions, so I'd say the scores are pretty accurate.

took the first one last weekend, 720 49q 40v Happy about this score, and was confident I could bring up my verbal, so I put all my focus on SC this past week
This weekend I took Prep 2 690 46q 38v not happy about this one... I'm retaking the gmat next weekend, and would be devastated if I only go up 10 pts. (previous score was a 680)

Now, the thing that annoys me about this, 
prep 1, 10 wrong on Q, 9 wrong on V
prep 2, 10 wrong on Q, 9 wrong on V...

It all depends on the type on questions you get, when you get them, and how hard they are at that time... but still, super annoying. I know my level is around 690-730, some days I can get my Quant to 50, some days I can get my V to 40, but not consistently. Cant wait to be done with this beast.

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GMAT Scoring annoys me...

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