Offical GMAT Score and Mock scores - huge differences

Question

Yesterday I took the official test at the test centre and got 625 (Q83 V81 DI79)

I had 18 correct questions in quant, 17 correct in Verbal and 16 correct in DI.

What surprised me much is how different the scoring algorithm is on mocks vs. on the real test, in terms of the scores on the mocks being much less strict in terms of incorrect and correct answers

I took 5 mocks before and nearly on each mock I had better scores in Verbal and DI sections having the same or more questions incorrect
for example:

Mock 2    Verbal 17 correct and my score was 84 (91th percentile), DI 15 correct score was 82 (94th percentile) - a much better score with 1 more incorrect question

Mock 3      DI 14 correct and score was 82 (94th percentile) - a much better score with 2 more incorrect questions

Mock 5      Quant 13 correct and score was 79 (59th percentile), DI 12 correct score was 79 (79th percentile) so the same I got, but here with twice as many wrong answers as on my real test

Mock 6      Quant 13 correct and score was 80 (66th percentile), Verbal 17 correct score was 83 (86th percentile) so the same number of wrong questions, but the score much much better, DI 10 correct and the score was 78 (73th percentile) so just 1 point less than mine score with 6 more incorrect questions

And idk if this is normal, but it seems like the mocks are not that good indicator in terms of incorrect and correct questions influencing the scores in each section
Or maybe you think something is off as the differences seem insane for me in some examples

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

If you're interested, consider checking out some of the posts by people who've shared/included their scoring info for the actual exam and official mocks they've taken. The Understanding Your Score page on the MBA website may also provide some insight. It mentions, for example, 3 factors that Verbal Reasoning is based on. Might also be worth mentioning if there were any questions you reviewed on the actual and your mocks.

5 Verbal tips

Archit3110 · Answer

the overall score does vary on the total count of correct answers in the beginning of the section.. if possible and do ESR analysis check in which part of section did you get most wrong answers...

pintukr · Answer

It is so because of the difficulty level of questions you got correct.

All the Best.

Aslamkhanshovon · Answer

How others people say, i don't care. Scoring in GMAT focus edition seems problematic

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi Aslamkhanshovon,

The GMAT is an adaptive test, so accuracy isn't the best indicator of performance. You could also take a look at  this blog post  to understand why the actual GMAT and the practice tests can seem quite different in terms of scoring.

SakshiAhuja · Answer

It sounds like you've noticed some significant differences between your mock test scores and your actual test scores, which can definitely be frustrating. The scoring algorithms for mock tests and the official tests can vary quite a bit, and it’s not uncommon for people to see these kinds of discrepancies.

From what you’ve shared, it seems like the mocks were a bit more lenient with the scoring, even when you had more incorrect answers. This could be due to a variety of reasons: differences in question difficulty, the way the scoring algorithm weights each question, or even just the specific test prep company’s approach to mocks.

Your real test scores (Q83, V81, DI79 for a total of 625) with 18 correct in Quant, 17 correct in Verbal, and 16 correct in DI suggest that the official test might have had tougher questions or a stricter scoring algorithm compared to the mocks you took. It’s also possible that the percentile rankings are different between the test center’s official exam and the mock exams.

Given your experience, it might be worth considering another prep resource to get a better alignment between your practice and the actual test. Manya - The Princeton Review is highly recommended. They have a strong reputation for their test prep materials and could provide a more accurate reflection of what to expect on the real test. Plus, their structured approach might help bridge the gap between your mock and actual test performance.

Keep pushing forward, and good luck with your prep!

saurvan · Answer

Can someone please give me a tentative idea about how many Q's I can afford to get wrong to get a score of approx 85 in each section? I do understand its kind of a vague Q, but any insight would be helpful.

Borrat · Answer

Kind of an unpopular opinion, but I had the same experience...

Theres no doubt in my mind that the actual test give you easier questions but penalize you heavily if you answer wrong. 
Also, the gmat is section adaptive. i did verbal first and quant questions felt much easier because i did bad on verbal. i ended up with 3 wrong quant answers and got a 57% percentile.

Studi

AjiteshArun · Answer

Q79 with only 3 mistakes is really unfortunate.

This score is definitely another candidate for  bb's score report directory .

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Offical GMAT Score and Mock scores - huge differences

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