Have a question about GMAT? Ask Kaplan

Question

https://gmatclub.com/static/partners/kaplan/ask_kaplan.png  Please join me in welcoming the Kaplan Team to GMAT Club.

If you have a question about any of the Kaplan courses, books, or any of their products - this is the place to post them to get your answers fast. 
Also, if even you have just general questions, you can ask the experts.

Kaplan Team on GMAT Club: 
 KapTeacherEli 
 Skovinsky 
 Testluv

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Hello!

I've been poking around these boards for a while, answering questions where I can, but I'm glad to be part of a team now! I'll be checking these boards daily, but if there is a thread that you'd like an expert response to, please feel free to send me a PM. Best of luck with your studies!

chetanb · Answer

Hello I want to know how tough is Kaplan Test 1 compared to actual GMAT. I scored 710 on Kaplan -CAT1 (Q52, V37).First 2 tests of Kaplan are mentioned as Linear, does it make any difference in score? Please advise.

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Hi chetanb,

I'm happy to help! However, I'm not sure what you mean when you say that the 'first two tests are linear'; where did you hear this, and which tests specifically are you talking about?

We do offer a linear test--our free online practice test, whose purpose is to help students learn how the GMAT works and get exposed to its content rather than provide a perfect representation of their score. Aside from that, the rest of our tests--the 9 associated with our GMAT Advantage class and the 4 that come with the Kaplan Premier book--are adaptive. That means unless you are using a second-hand book with older material, your tests should have adapted to your level and given you an accurate score.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions!

Eli

gmatpapa · Answer

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS 
OVERALL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Overall Correct: 82% 
82%

% correct
Number correct 64
Number incorrect 14
Number omitted 0
Number not reached 0
Scaled Scores:
Scaled Score
Overall : 660
Overall Percentage Below : 86
Quantitative : 42
Quantitative Percentage Below : 88
Verbal : 42
Verbal Percentage Below : 95
Answer Changes:

Hi Eli,

I just finished the Kaplan free online test. Have copied and pasted the analysis above. What I find strange is that my overall percentage below is actually lesser than that of either of the two sections. Just wanted to understand how is that possible.

Also, would re-ask a question that has been asked for ages now- Why do Kaplan tests give scores that are around 70- 100 points lesser than GMATprep or many a times, the actual GMAT! It'll be great if you can lay to rest this question once and for all!! Thanks..

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Hi gmatpapa,

The free diagnostic test that you took was not a CAT. The scores are generally accurate, but the free test is designed more to familiarize students with what they do and don't know in terms of GMAT content than to provide a precise score.

As for the odd percentiles, it IS mathematically possible. For instance, if A, B, C, and D respectively scored 1, 2, 3, and 5 on the math and 5, 3, 2, and 1 on the verbal, then B would be 2nd in math, 3rd in verbal, but tied for last in overall points. Of course, that scenario seems fairly unlikely; please PM me your name and email, and we'll investigate your specific case.

Finally, I wish I could answer your last question, but I'm not clear it's the case. I just posted in another thread asking why our tests were too EASY! Practice tests are inevitably unreliable; beyond the fact that no one in the entire test prep business can spend the time and money on each question that the GMAT does, the psychological pressures and motivations that a test-taker faces are completely different on the real thing. What we do know, however, is that our own surveys show our practice tests are an accurate predictor of test-day performance, even if students do occasionally report scores that they feel aren't representative of their normal capabilities.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you!

daagh · Answer

I have never taken a KAP test myself, but have heard much about them. Out of my curiosity, I just wish to clear some doubts.

1. First of all, -the KAP adaptive tests that are part of the tutorials- are they really adaptive tests in the true sense of the term? In other words do, they really change according to the performance of the candidates? If for example, two people took a particular test, say test no 5 from two different locations, will they get entirely different sets of questions?

2. Whether the questions will be different through the entire course of the test, or they will differ only unto certain number of questions between two different candidates, say unto 15 questions and then remain the same through the end for both the takers. 
3. If one takes a particular test for the second time, will there be different questions each time?

I need to know this information because many students ask these questions and I thought that I needed to know the facts first before I could answer them.

KapTeacherEli · Answer

Hi Daagh,

Thanks for asking about our materials! I'm happy to help you get, and share, the answers.

Our tests have undergone a few different revisions, so this answer doesn't apply to all Kaplan materials out there. However, our most recent scoring algorithm for GMAT Advantage classroom students is  mostly  adaptive. Unlike the GMAT, it doesn't adjust difficulty question by question; rather, every chunk of 6-7 questions generates a result that determines the difficulty of the next set. This means that two students are likely to see the same problems at the beginning of each section on the same tests, but that the questions they see will subsequently diverge. It's not a perfect simulation of the GMAT's behind-the-screen mechanics, but that shouldn't matter; our tests do produce accurate results.

Let me know if there is anything else I can clear up. Hope this helps!

daagh · Answer

Thanks Eli, Now I understand.

Prats12 · Answer

Hey,
I got my CAT2 Results
Overall:710
Overall Percentage Below:92%
Quant Percentage Below:92%
Verbal Percentage Below:74%

Can you please throw some light on how these percentages correspond to the points which we get on a real GMAT(0-60)?
Also is the overall a good enough representative of a possible GMAT score?

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