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![[Advice on Retake] Verbal score dropped significantly in 2nd test](/forum/styles/gmatclub_light/imageset/icon_post_target_unread.svg "[Advice on Retake] Verbal score dropped significantly in 2nd test"){kind=icon}
16 Feb 2023, 20:44
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Hi GMAT Experts,
I've just taken my second GMAT yesterday and VR score dropped significantly (25% decrease from the first test). I would like to ask for your advice on topics below:
1. What could cause the score to decrease this much?
2. Retake Preparations
My first GMAT test was on 30 Jan. (Score 640 --> Q49 / V28)
My second test was taken on 16 Feb. (Score 580 --> Q49 / V21)
I decided to take 2nd test within 16 days because there are deadlines coming up. I understand that this preparation period is very short. However, I am super shocked when I see such big drop on my Verbal section score.
Here's more details on my test & preparation:
In the first test, my time management was not ideal. For VR, I split the test into 3 sections. After I finished 2/3 of the exam, time was running out so I rushed through the last 10 questions. This was reflected in my ESR. My correct rate went down in the last section. (75% --> 57% --> 57% --> 25%)
During 16 days preparation period, I've studied all Verbal Review content in the official guide and practiced dozens of official questions. (Roughly 75% correct rate) For each practice question, I read all answer explanation and carefully studied why each answer was wrong or right. I tried to focus on fundamental knowledge. In the second test, I had a much better time management and managed to finish to whole VR section with 30 seconds left on the clock. Comparing to the first test, I slightly sped up to get the final answer. After the VR Section was completed, I was totally confident that I done much better in my second test. I was disappointed when I saw the unofficial score.
In order to prepare for my next test, I tried to think what could I have done wrong. Was the knowledge I acquire during the study not helpful? Did I complete the test faster but made more mistakes? I would like to ask if you could give me any suggestions. Thank you!
Note: I've purchased & activated ESR for my second test. However, the email link is broken. (Error message: "Unexpected error (GetDiagnosticReport)"). I've submitted a support ticket to 'mba dot com'. I will try to generate a new link soon.
I've just taken my second GMAT yesterday and VR score dropped significantly (25% decrease from the first test). I would like to ask for your advice on topics below:
1. What could cause the score to decrease this much?
2. Retake Preparations
My first GMAT test was on 30 Jan. (Score 640 --> Q49 / V28)
My second test was taken on 16 Feb. (Score 580 --> Q49 / V21)
I decided to take 2nd test within 16 days because there are deadlines coming up. I understand that this preparation period is very short. However, I am super shocked when I see such big drop on my Verbal section score.
Here's more details on my test & preparation:
In the first test, my time management was not ideal. For VR, I split the test into 3 sections. After I finished 2/3 of the exam, time was running out so I rushed through the last 10 questions. This was reflected in my ESR. My correct rate went down in the last section. (75% --> 57% --> 57% --> 25%)
During 16 days preparation period, I've studied all Verbal Review content in the official guide and practiced dozens of official questions. (Roughly 75% correct rate) For each practice question, I read all answer explanation and carefully studied why each answer was wrong or right. I tried to focus on fundamental knowledge. In the second test, I had a much better time management and managed to finish to whole VR section with 30 seconds left on the clock. Comparing to the first test, I slightly sped up to get the final answer. After the VR Section was completed, I was totally confident that I done much better in my second test. I was disappointed when I saw the unofficial score.
In order to prepare for my next test, I tried to think what could I have done wrong. Was the knowledge I acquire during the study not helpful? Did I complete the test faster but made more mistakes? I would like to ask if you could give me any suggestions. Thank you!
Note: I've purchased & activated ESR for my second test. However, the email link is broken. (Error message: "Unexpected error (GetDiagnosticReport)"). I've submitted a support ticket to 'mba dot com'. I will try to generate a new link soon.
16 Feb 2023, 21:13
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Hi poomam01.
Regarding why your verbal score dropped, my best guess is that your approaches to answering verbal questions aren't solid enough. So, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. Thus, you can use pretty much the same approach and score relatively high in verbal or surprisingly low. The same issue would explain why you scored lower than before on the verbal section even though you felt good about what you did when taking the test. What you did when answering the verbal questions let incorrect choices sneak through.
And here's something to consider. You can get 50 percent of the verbal questions you see correct just by guessing between the last two choices. So, even a 75 percent hit rate on OG practice questions can still indicate that you're not quite sure of your answers, particularly because many OG verbal questions are pretty easy.
So, one thing you can do is simply to shoot for higher accuracy when practicing answering verbal questions. From what I've seen, when a student starts getting over 80 percent of medium and over 70 percent of hard verbal practice questions correct,, that student is starting to get to become skilled enough to score relatively high on GMAT verbal.
To achieve higher accuracy, take your time when answering practice questions. Don't worry about the clock until you are consistently achieving high accuracy.
Also, any time you miss a question, determine exactly why you missed it, and address that issue.
For more on how to prepare for GMAT verbal and how to practice for best results, see these posts.
How to Score High on GMAT Verbal
The Best GMAT Practice Methods
Regarding why your verbal score dropped, my best guess is that your approaches to answering verbal questions aren't solid enough. So, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. Thus, you can use pretty much the same approach and score relatively high in verbal or surprisingly low. The same issue would explain why you scored lower than before on the verbal section even though you felt good about what you did when taking the test. What you did when answering the verbal questions let incorrect choices sneak through.
And here's something to consider. You can get 50 percent of the verbal questions you see correct just by guessing between the last two choices. So, even a 75 percent hit rate on OG practice questions can still indicate that you're not quite sure of your answers, particularly because many OG verbal questions are pretty easy.
So, one thing you can do is simply to shoot for higher accuracy when practicing answering verbal questions. From what I've seen, when a student starts getting over 80 percent of medium and over 70 percent of hard verbal practice questions correct,, that student is starting to get to become skilled enough to score relatively high on GMAT verbal.
To achieve higher accuracy, take your time when answering practice questions. Don't worry about the clock until you are consistently achieving high accuracy.
Also, any time you miss a question, determine exactly why you missed it, and address that issue.
For more on how to prepare for GMAT verbal and how to practice for best results, see these posts.
How to Score High on GMAT Verbal
The Best GMAT Practice Methods
16 Feb 2023, 21:29
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep,
Thank you very much for your response. I totally agree that feeling good about the answer might not me a good sign. In fact, after I finished Quant section in my second test, I felt quite nervous and thought the Q score will be lower than the first test. For Verbal section, I might be too confident when selecting answers and misses the correct one. (e.g., Answer incorrectly when selecting between 2 or 3 choices. Eliminate correct choice from the pool before answer) I guess the best strategy for me right now is to practice more harder questions and to spend time understanding all answers. I'll try to improve accuracy during the practice.
Thank you!
Thank you very much for your response. I totally agree that feeling good about the answer might not me a good sign. In fact, after I finished Quant section in my second test, I felt quite nervous and thought the Q score will be lower than the first test. For Verbal section, I might be too confident when selecting answers and misses the correct one. (e.g., Answer incorrectly when selecting between 2 or 3 choices. Eliminate correct choice from the pool before answer) I guess the best strategy for me right now is to practice more harder questions and to spend time understanding all answers. I'll try to improve accuracy during the practice.
Thank you!
.
