Can there ever be a glitch on the GMAT Prep exam (mba.com)?

Question

So I just finished taking a practice test (just Quant and Verbal) and I was pleasantly surprised by the score I received. My score jumped 130 points from 3 weeks ago.

(April 2019) 1st GMAT Prep: 490
(November 2019) 1st Official GMAT: 510
(December 2019) 2nd GMAT Prep: 640

I was *hoping* for maybe a 50 point increase from my last exam but the incredible increase really surprised me. I also got 13 wrong on Quant and 12 wrong on Verbal which are both only 1 or 2 more correct than what I received on my first GMAT Prep exam.

Is it at all possible that there was a glitch?

bb · Answer

What is the number of the test? 1,2,3,4,5,6? 
The first two tests are the most reliable. The others are less so due to the limited question database size.

PS. It is possible of course and hopefully probable if you have been studying. Testtakers usually can improve by about 100 points by going through most prep programs or courses with good but average effort. Some exert extra effort and hit close to 150 points. It’s more rare to see 200 or above points of improvement as that usually includes a very intensive yet compact stretch of prep.

Congrats?

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coola426 · Answer

I've been studying a lot. I'm currently on the bench (consulting term for not being on a project) so I've had a lot of time to study. I've been studying a boatload but still didn't feel like I would've gotten that high. Thanks a lot for the assurance!

bb · Answer

Hopefully it is a good gain and glad you are seeing an improvement. People often stop studying because they are sick of studying and GMAT rather than because they covered everything (I took the test when I felt I could not positively improve my score any further. Luckily, I hit 750).... but improvements depend on how rusty one is and how low they start. 490 is a bit below average (average is 540), so it seems you have been out of school for a bit and perhaps you got some quick wins. Those slow down over time. It is also possible for your first test you have made a lot of newbie mistakes with DS, RC, CR, etc that are easy to avoid in future tests, so it is not that that you got so much better, you just stopped making silly mistakes.

In any case, you should also track your improvement through your daily workouts and your success rate on your quizzes. You should time every question you take and maybe it is not super strict with a loud buzzer but you want to have that clock ticking to put pressure on you and give you a little jolt as much as possible if not every time. That way you can keep track of your performance on the OG or end of chapter questions in your book/course and you will get a sense of how you are doing and if you are improving or stalling. Make sure you cover the material well and don't move on to the next chapter/section until you are comfortable with this one. Review often (by going back and covering yesterday's' lesson) and save the questions you have missed for a later review.

When are you applying? Fall of 2020 or R2 in a few weeks?

coola426 · Answer

Thanks for all the advice! I still have a a lot of math material to review but I'm sure I'll be able to make a ton of progress. I'll be applying Fall of 2020 so I have a ton of time to improve.

bb · Answer

Sounds good! you have a great momentum going. Try not to stretch your prep past four months. Try not to take any breaks or big gaps because you’ll forget and lose some of the finer points of test taking and problem-solving. You have time on your hand but don’t stretch out. Try to take the test in February or latest March. Good luck and happy holidays

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi coola426,

Statistically-speaking, that type of score improvement in just 3 weeks is rare, so it's reasonable to question this result a bit. It's certainly possible that you significantly reduced the number of little mistakes that you made (and ended up getting tougher questions wrong) - meaning that you got about the same number of overall correct answers.

That having been said, there are a variety of factors that can influence your performance, including the time of day that you take your Exams, whether you take the full Exam or not, if it's a 'repeat' Exam, the number of lucky guesses and/or silly mistakes you make, if you had to rush through a bunch of questions at the ends of each section, etc.

Thankfully, you appear to have given yourself plenty of time to keep studying and improving - which is good. Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, 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) 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?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

While I agree that a 130-point score jump in just one month seems like quite a lot, it’s possible that since you have been studying so much, you’ve greatly improved your quant and verbal skills. In any case, when do you plan to take your next practice exam?

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