Hi MBATestin10,
First off, a 690/Q47 is a strong Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, the 2 CAT score results you listed - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 710 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.
Beyond that potential explanation, when these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:
Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Did you take any other practice CATs/mocks besides the two that you listed? On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich