From 710 to 580 : Is there any score reporting error

Question

Hi Guys,

I sat for GMAT exam on 23 Nov 2015 ,second time to improve my previous score of 710 which I scored almost two years back but to my horror I scored just 580 . I was totally blank for few minutes and couldn't believe believe my eyes.

Is it possible to have such a sharp dip in performance particularly when one feels even more confident and comes with better preparation. I took both prep test and scored 760 and 770. I took Kaplan and Veritas free tests as well and scored 740 and 750 respectively. On the test day I was feeling pretty normal and just breezed through all the questions in Quant with 5 minutes to spare. I faced just 3 monstrous questions in Quant on which I spend like 5-6 minutes each. In verbal section as well barring 2 questions on which I really had to take chances ( was confused between singular/ plural ) , I was pretty confident.

I was hoping to get something 750+ but 580 came as bummer. I am totally at loss and wondering whether there can be some algorithm error or bugs, though my confidence is intact. Has anyone faced such situation as well.

Just to give background info I am an engineer from so called Elite colleges in India and have done MBA from one of the IIMs.

Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi buffaloboy,

The GMAT is remarkably good at giving each Test Taker the score that he/she has earned, so it's unlikely that the program malfunctioned. 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.

If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take any of these CATs before?

As an aside, a 710 is an outstanding GMAT score (and yours is still valid). Why did you decide to retake the GMAT?

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

buffaloboy · Answer

Hi Cohan,

Thanks for your reply. Here is pointwise reply to concerns raised
1) Yes I took the entire CAT (including Essay and IR)
2) Yes, I took CATs at home
3) No , timing was different. generally I took CATs in the afternoon or evening but real GMAT in the morning. I chose morning slot considering the fact that I perform very well in the morning. 
4)I took the CATs under same conditions as applicable during real GMAT
5) I took these CATs two years back when I first appeared for GMAT. When I decided to retake GMAT I reinstalled these tests and scored 700 without any prep just to gauge what I need to focus and where I stand. Then I prepared for about one month and wrote second test. Bingo , I scored 760 (Q49, V45). Since my focus was to increase Q from 49 to 51. I studied hard for Quant and watched all videos of Thursday with Ron (I don't think Ron needs any introduction among GMAT takers) and really I came to know the small naunces specially on DS. I again reinstalled the tests and scored 760, and 770.

I want to pursue PhD and admission to these programs is very competitive. I was hoping to score 750+ to enhance my chances of admission but end up with 580. Worst , I didn't cancel the score and rather went ahead with reporting.

Now I am really hard pressed to write GMAT again but don't know what to study .

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi buffaloboy,

There are a few potential 'red flags' in how you took your CATs that could very easily have impacted your performance on Test Day, including taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day and retaking CATs (even if it was years later and with re-installed software; the pool of questions is rather limited, so seeing questions that you've already faced almost always leads to 'inflated' practice scores).

I have some additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

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

buffaloboy · Answer

Hi Cohen,

I really appreciate your help. Below is my pointwise reply
1. Three days before GMAT were pretty hectic. My test was on Monday. On Friday and till noon of Saturday I was in a leadership meet of my company . I wrote prep test in Saturday evening and scored 770. Sunday I traveled for about 12 hrs to reach center.
2. I was a bit exhausted but at the same time excited as well in anticipation of good gmat score (As I was pretty much confident about my prep and had clear concepts for both Quant and Verbal)
3. Ride was just for 20 minutes from where I stayed.
4. No distraction at all. I was alone in the room and was totally enjoying the questions. 
5. I had some juice and energy bar during the breaks. For verbal I got around 15 minutes as I finished the quant section early but didn't submit the last question. 
6. Yup Quant section. about 5-7 minutes to spare.
7. Nope.

Cohen I observed one thing during test. In verbal section I faced one question to which I was familiar and all four answer choices were similar(worded differently a bit) but the fifth one( correct answer in OG). I read question stem and answer choices twice just to be sure . Is it possible that uploaded answers on GMAT have some error ?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi buffaloboy,

With this last post, there are a number of additional 'red flags' that absolutely would have impacted your performance.

From what you've described, you were likely over-exerting yourself in the 3 days leading up to your Exam. I understand that you probably had no choice about the job-related activities that you were responsible for, but taking a CAT less than 48 hours before your Test AND the long travel day immediately before would have almost certainly caused 'burn out.' During the Exam, you wouldn't even have realized that you were making mistakes.

You referred to the ride to the Test Center as being '20 minutes from where you stayed..' Was that at a hotel or some place other than your home? Did you sleep in a strange room, in a strange bed, the night before your Exam? That TOO can throw off a Test Taker's performance.

The GMAT question that you described (with the 5 similar answers) - was that an SC prompt? Although it's not too common on Test Day, sometimes the differences among answers to an SC question can come down to just 1-2 words.

I'm sure that you have the capacity to score higher on the Official GMAT, but there were just too many variables working against you on this attempt. Assuming that you plan to retest, you're going to have to try to better plan everything out so that you can minimize the factors that hurt your performance.

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

buffaloboy · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your involvement and encouraging words. Yeah you are right that there might be burn out but even with burn out I am sure I can fare well. Even on my previous attempt wherein I scored 710, I traveled for 10 hrs, stayed in a hotel and couldn't sleep at all. But this time I stayed at my close relative(kind of familiar and usual place for me). Moreover, I am pretty confident about Quant. I do remember I committed a silly mistake at Q34 but that's it.

That GMAT question was a CR question. Weakening type.

To be honest, now I am scared a bit given the fact that GMAC canceled many of test takers'scores this year in India .

sandy2beachin · Answer

Hi Buffaloboy and Hi Cohen!
I took my GMAT two days back and scored just 560. Q 44 and V 33.
My experience was similar. I scored on an average a 680 on all the mocks I took and was pretty confident of scoring a 700+.
After completing my quant section I was certain that I had touched a 48-50 mark and took the Verbal with more confidence. The SC seemed very different from what I had seen but was pretty sure I managed to get at least 80% right. RC and CR were easy and I did not find them difficult. I managed to complete both the sections in time with approx a minute left in each sections. I was sure of a score around 680-700 mark but was shocked to see a 560 score.

There was an issue at the test center. After completing my IR section and after finishing my 8 minute break, the center faced some internet issues and they could not log me in. I had to wait for some 30 odd minutes before they could get everything back on track. Could that have affected my score in anyway?

I have been trying to figure out what went wrong and am still clueless. Its too hard for me to believe that I did not score even 650 on the test.

Buffaloboy - What was your section wise score? and what do you mean when you say "Gmac cancelled a lot of test takers score?"

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sandy2beachin,

I would start with the same questions that I asked the original poster...

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take any of these CATs before?

Your self-assessment while you were taking the GMAT was clearly 'off', so there are likely other factors to consider besides the ones above. The GMAT gave you the score that you EARNED though - the 'log-in issue' had NO impact on how you were scored.

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. We just need to properly define what was inaccurate about your practice and what you could have better done to maximize your performance on Test Day.

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

sandy2beachin · Answer

Thanks Cohen for your reply.

Yes, my mocks were not exactly under the same environment/conditions and here are the answers to your questions :-
1) For 2 tests Yes, I took the entire test(AWA, IR , Q and V) and for the other two I only took the Quant and Verbal.
2) Yes I took them at home.
3) No, the timings were different.
4) No I did not take any longer breaks or skip sections. Just for the 2 CATS where I only took Quant and Verbal.
5) I never re-took any of the CATS and the questions were all different.

However, the previous night I could not sleep well because of anxiety but I never felt it to be an issue during the test. I never felt lethargic or sleepy. I was quite focused (at least that is what I feel). But now I think my sleep may have affected my performance. Moreover, I was studying late till the evening before the test.
I think these factors might have played a role, although it is still difficult for me to believe.

Thank you for your help

AjiteshArun · Answer

You really should put yourself in the best possible position to do well. Take a couple of days off if you need to, because that's better than having to take the exam again. As an IIM grad, you might be used to working with little sleep, but that's  never  optimal (even if you feel later that everything was fine). In fact, lack of sleep is one of the biggest reasons people don't do well on exams, especially adaptive tests like the GMAT, which rarely "let up". You might take a risk with this if you are extremely good, but your score range is certain to take a hit. That is, you'll probably score in a wider "band" than normal.

Have you got the  Exam Pack 1 ? It has two tests that you're likely to find useful.

vinnisatija · Answer

What is your sectional cut off ?

vinnisatija · Answer

What is your sectional score ?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sandy2beachin,

The information from your last post is important - it points out the inconsistencies in how you were taking your CATs and a couple of other factors that would have absolutely impacted your performance on Test Day.

To start, the GMAT is a specific 'even't, which you CAN train for. If you're taking your CATs in an unrealistic way (ANY way that doesn't match up with what you'll fact on Test Day), then the score results will often be 'off' (and that usually means 'inflated'). Neither skipping sections nor taking your CATs at home is realistic; if there are any other choices you made that ended up making these CATs less realistic, then they too would have been factors. In addition, the lack of sleep and the CRAMMING that you did the night before most certainly hurt your performance.

Thankfully, all of these issues can be 'fixed' - you just have to be more conscientious with your studies (and how you take your CATs) going forward.

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

buffaloboy · Answer

Hi Sandy , Sorry for responding so late. Office keeps me busy like hell. My sectional cutoff is Q48,V21. Click here gmac-cancels-gmat-scores-199372.html. GMAC cancelled scored after one month. Sandy you can ask GMAC customer care rep to provide you item challenge form through which you can challenge any question you think was wrong (Ans options presented were wrong). I am equally clueless as in what went wrong. I never scored less than Q49 on any practice or real test with or without prep. So my doubt is what if GMAC updated the answer choices wrongly on GMAT ?

buffaloboy · Answer

Section cut off is Q48, V21

buffaloboy · Answer

You are right in saying that as an IIM grads I am used to less sleep and I do understand the importance of sleep before the test day. I had good 6-7 hrs sleep before the test day. Well I need to retake the exam but I am clueless about how to approach and what to study. May be my shock factor is outweighing my motivation for or anticipation of a good score. Also my accuracy on practice questions (Verbals Only as for Quant its 99-100%) is around 95% and learning curve is almost flat

WayneHam · Answer

Based on your posts you should just write it again. You know exactly the 3 or 4 questions you got wrong and you've mentioned repeatedly that there could have been a scoring error. On top of that, you get 95% of verbals correct and 99-100% of quant questions correct in your studying sessions. If all of this is true you should just write again. Your last post even mentions that you cannot possibly improve any more because you're perfect. Your original post mentions that your confidence is intact and I think that's pretty obvious.

I don't think in any of the posts you even mentioned the possibility that you actually got a lot of questions wrong, especially since you scored a 710 previously (2 years ago) and you're scoring over 750 in the practice exams (which are re-taken). Also based on your score breakdown, you didn't do so well on verbal but you're getting only 1 wrong out of 20 when you're studying. Now I could point out a handful of errors in your english just based on your posts on this thread. Something doesn't add up. I'm not ruling out that there was an error on the test but if things are as you indicate, you should just go and rewrite asap.

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From 710 to 580 : Is there any score reporting error

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