Verbal Accuracy / Verbal Score

Question

Hello!
Can anybody please tell me what should be the accuracy in Verbal section to score average at least. On One of the mock test, my accuracy was 75% and still my score was 23! Is there anything that can b accounted for this
Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ashutoshsh,

Your post is a bit vague, so I'm hoping that you can provide a bit more information about how you've studied so far and your goals:

1) When you talk about scoring 'average' in Verbal, do you mean the 50th percentile? These days, that would be about a 28 on the Official GMAT.
2) You mention have a 75% 'average' on your last CAT. Does that mean that you correctly answered 30 (or so) of the 41 Verbal questions?
3) What 'brand' of Test was it? Was it an actual CAT Test?

4) How long have you been studying?
5) What study materials have you been using?
6) What is your goal score?
7) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

ashutoshsh · Answer

Hey! sorry for inconvenience.. 
What i wanted to ask is that i what should be my accuracy to get a decent score (>40) in verbal. ie, out of 41, how many questions should i answer right, to get a score of atleast 40. I was happy with my a 70% accuracy bcoz i didn't know that 70% accuracy means a score of 23 or 29. 
i wrote veritas mock test few days back found that i am getting a score of V27 with 72% accuracy. i am have booked my exam date for 25th may 2016 and i am preparing from last 1 month. 
Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ashutoshsh,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. It takes into account a number of different factors; not just the number of correct answers. As such, getting a certain number of questions correct could lead to a variety of different score results. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs.

A far more useful gauge would be to review each CAT and determine how many questions you SHOULD have gotten correct, but didn't (due to a silly/little mistake). Those mistakes are the things that you have to fix to score at a higher level.

A Verbal Score of 40+ is the 90th percentile - it's a score that most Test Takers will never achieve in their lives. Scoring consistently at that level requires a certain degree of practice, Tactics and grammar/idiom knowledge.

1) How have you scored on each of your CATs overall (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

egmat · Answer

Dear ashutoshsh , Many students use accuracy to estimate their performance. Intentionally or unintentionally they consider accuracy as a proxy for ability. Accuracy-based performance analysis gives a very skewed picture of a student’s actual propensity to score well on the GMAT. To understand more, read this article written by me sometime back: https://bit.ly/1WcDTnk. Just to give you an example, you can answer 30 questions out of 41 correctly on the Verbal section and still get a score between V22 (30 percentile) to V42 (96 percentile). Attend GMAT Strategy Session 1 over the weekend I would also suggest you to go attend our GMAT Strategy Session 1 over the weekend (23rd April, 2016- Saturday | 7 AM Pacific or 7:30 PM IST). Here is the link to register: https://bit.ly/1Nz6cpa. Do register soon as the seats are limited. This session will help you define you GMAT strategy and create your own study plan. In this session you will learn the following: 1) How does GMAT Scoring work, especially the facts and myths about GMAT scoring. 2) How to devise your GMAT strategy based on your personal profile. 3) Why mastering core skills is important to ace the GMAT. 4) What are the core skills that you need to master to ace the GMAT. Hope this helps. Let me know in case of any questions. Regards, Rajat Sadana

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