gmatclub mock tests

Question

Hi All,

I have taken some mock tests on the gmatclub and 1 on gmatprep. The results are following:

Gmatprep 1 on 9th Jan: 660 (q50, v30)

gmatclub Quant 1 on 22nd Dec: q42 (got 15 questions wrong)
gmatclub quant 2 on 24th Dec: q32 (got 17 questions wrong)
gmatclub quant 3 on 31st Dec: q39 (got 13 wrong)
gmatclub quant 4 on 3rd Jan: q39 (got 14 wrong)
gmatclub quant 5 on 8th Jan: q47 (got 9 wrong)
gmatclub quant 6 on 14th Jan: q42 (got 14 wrong)

gmatclub verbal 1 on 26th Dec: 33 (got 14 wrong)
gmatclub verbal 2 on 2nd Jan: 27 (got 17 wrong)
gmatclub verbal 3 on 9th Jan: 45 (got 8 wrong)

I don't understand why my scores are varying too much? The quant scores are ranging from 32 to 47; I thought the 47 score was a fluke. But on the next day, I scored 50 on gmatprep mock quant. Same issues in verbal - the range is too big. But on the next day of scoring a 45 on gmatclub verbal, I scored a 30 on the gmatprep test.

I don't know to how to interpret the results. Kindly help me out.

Also, I need to know whether I should continue to take tests or go back to studying the concepts. Need experts' opinion.

Archit3110 · Answer

Well you need to see that in what sequence did you get the questions wrong, supposedly if you got the questions wrong in first 10 then your score is bound to dip.. whereas if you got question wrong somewhere in say 12th onwards so you might not get a huge dip in score..
GMAT is a computer adaptive test and so are the tests you took, score fluctuate mainly because of wrong answer in the initial set of questions..

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  gmatbd . You requested an Expert opinion, so I will provide mine. It is fine to take practice tests through GMAT Club, and I would encourage you to do so—you paid for access, after all. You should understand that just about everybody agrees that GMAT Club Quant problems are brutal compared to their official counterparts. I know at least two people who have earned a 50 on the actual exam but got a shock when they saw a 44 on the screen after completing such a practice set. Take these results with a grain of salt. One thing you should  not  do, however, is pile on questions without adequately reviewing the ones you have already missed. It is tempting to chase correct answers, to look at a solution by   Bunuel   and think,  Oh, that was so easy. I'll get that next time.  Chances are, you will make the same mistakes, achieving little more than exhausting more questions. You want to get the most out of your practice sets, then start taking notes. Work out a problem on your own after seeing the solution. Disqualify incorrect answers on the Verbal side because there is something to disprove, not because you think some other answer is better. Until you get to the heart of the matter—what, exactly, is holding you back whenever you miss a question—you will see score fluctuations such as those you reported above. And often, when I see such fluctuations, things turn sour when it counts, on test day.

I would discourage you from taking back-to-back practice exams on the same day. That 45-to-30 drop is much easier to understand through such a lens. I would also advise you to stick to official Verbal questions for the majority of your preparation. This is not to knock questions from other sources, although there are plenty of poorly constructed questions floating around out there, but official questions are rigorously screened, and there is a consistency to their logic that is sometimes lacking elsewhere. Get used to official questions—their phrasing, topics—because that is what you will see on the screen the day of the exam.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

bb · Answer

One of the issues is you are getting a lot of questions wrong. It is not really useful to compare how many questions you got wrong on one test vs another since there are adaptive algorithms and it is possible to get Q50 and Q35 with the same number of questions wrong... I see you got 14 out of 31 wrong on Jan 14th. Have you looked into the why you get up to 40% of your questions wrong?

The answer may be simple, such as - you keep missing all of the Type A, B, Or X questions and depending on how many of those questions are in a test, that's how your test scores and sometimes it is high and sometimes it is low....

The answer may be simple, such as - you keep missing all of the Type A, B, Or X questions and depending on how many of those questions are in a test, that's how your test scores and sometimes it is high and sometimes it is low....

Abhishekgmat87 · Answer

Gmat club test
Test 1 taken on 04/11/2021 Q 48 (11 incorrect out of which 6 incorrect in first 16 ques)
Test 2 taken on 05/11/2021 Q 50 (4 incorrect, none incorrect in first 20 questions)
Test 3 taken on 10/12/2021 Q51 (4 incorrect, Q no. 2,6,11,14 and thereafter 17 corrects in sequence)

I had given Sigma mock test day before yesterday and surprised to get only Q42 (14 incorrect Q no 2,6,9,17,19,20,23, 25 to 31)

There was no option to pause the test and as I was taking the test in late night, I had to rush for last 10 questions. I couldn't even mark options in last 2 questions.

I was very confident with my quant but sigma mock gave me a nightmare.

I want to understand why I got Q50 after getting all correct in first 20 questions but Q 51 while getting 4 incorrect in first 14 questions. 
 You have mentioned that Gmatclub quant questions are brutal, what would be the reason for so much difference in performance in Gmat club test and sigma mock test?

Abhishekgmat87 · Answer

bb  and  AndrewN  Please give your inputs

bb · Answer

Hi  Abhishekgmat87 ,
No one can tell you why one score was in one case and another in another case. It seems the scores were consistent. However, no test is the same. All tests are unique with computer picking questions based on your performance.

I think the bottom line is that it is not all about the first 14 questions. Your overall performance matters.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Abhishekgmat87 . I feel the need to point out the obvious that GMAT Club tests and Sigma tests are not the same, so you should not hold the scores on par. Rather, they are both diagnostic tools to help you gain insight into areas for further study, nothing more. (If you have earned 48-51 on GMAT Club Quant tests, good for you.) You will likely find that if you take more Sigma tests, your Quant scores will rise. Each test has its own feel, and it often takes time to grow comfortable with any particular test. The ones on which I would take the number score seriously are the official mocks. If you have not taken any of those, then I would suggest doing so soon. Remember, GMAT Club does not write the questions that appear on the GMAT™. Neither does any other test prep company. As such, it is crucial to prepare for the GMAT™ by practicing official questions.

I would also advise you to stop worrying about the first ten, twenty, or however many questions in an effort to beat the scoring algorithm. As   bb   noted in his reply, "your overall performance matters." If you focus on the question on the screen in front of you, then the next one, then the next, you can complete the entire section and have put in your best effort. A score goal can be motivating, but that goal should not overshadow the steps it may take to reach the top. Place more emphasis on the questions and topics themselves and stop fussing about these recaps of performance.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

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