On Official Software 4 Wrong and only a 41?

Question

Hello Everyone,

I just completed my 4th and final GMATPREP test and scored a 41 on Verbal. I only got 4 questions wrong on the section, with a perfect CR performance and two wrong for SC and RC, respectively. Can anyone explain to me how I only got a 41? Note that on past tests I've also gotten roughly similar scores with ~9 answers wrong.

Thanks,

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

That is strange, but as has been said many times, the algorithm is far more complex than we can understand.
Did you get the questions wrong initially or in a close interval?

Mortysmith · Answer

Not really, 3 16, 22 and 23

AjiteshArun · Answer

I don't think the word "only" works before V41 (93%)

The psychometric properties of the questions you received this time are not known to anyone except the people who put exam pack 1 together (and the code that scored your test). If this score is in line with the scores you got on earlier tests, then the algorithm did a good job even if you got the same score with 9 incorrect on the other GMATPrep tests. Don't go by the number of incorrect responses on an adaptive test. If you feel that you have improved, this score could have been an aberration. Take another test to get more data.

EducationAisle · Answer

That really is the beauty of the GMAT score. Basically over the past several attempts, the great thing about your GMAT score is that it has been able to consistently predict that your ability levels in Verbal is approximately 41.

Note that the GMAT score, as a predictor of your ability level, has been phenomenally consistent. This speaks volumes about the ability of GMAT score, to be an accurate predictor of your potential. Then it should not really matter whether in the background you got 4 questions wrong, 9 questions wrong or 20 questions wrong. That is just the  detail  (determined by question's difficulty level etc. etc.). The bigger picture is that your ability level has been repeatedly confirmed as around 41 at this stage.

ccooley · Answer

This is one of the most infuriating things about the GMAT, isn't it? But:

- The GMAC won't tell us exactly how their algorithm works. So, any attempt to explain why specifically you got a 41 with 4 missed questions would just be speculation. But we  do  suspect that the GMATPrep software uses the actual test's algorithm, or something very like it. So if it's possible to get a 41 with 4 misses on GMATPrep, it's most likely possible on the real thing, too.
- Your score has almost nothing to do with how many questions you miss. What matters is which questions you miss, and when you miss them. On the MPrep practice tests (which have been endorsed by GMAC alum Larry Rudner, for what it's worth), I've noticed that on Quant, almost every one of my students misses between 16 and 22 questions. That's completely irrespective of score. I've seen students score a 720 with 20 missed Quant questions, and I've seen students score a 500 with 20 missed Quant questions. 
- The only reason to think about how many questions you're missing is in the context of missing way more questions in one area than in another. That is: it doesn't matter very much if you miss 50% of the questions. But it does matter if you miss 80% of RC questions, and only 10% of SC questions. You can think of it like this -- in that situation, RC is 'holding you back' from seeing SC questions that are hard enough to challenge your own abilities. So until you shape up on RC, you won't really be effectively tested on SC.

On Official Software 4 Wrong and only a 41?

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