What does "average" mean on the Official GMAT diagnostic??

Question

I have recently completed the diagnostic test from the official GMAT Review (13th Ed.). My Scores are as follows:

Quantitative:
Problem Solving - 13 (average)
Data Sufficiency - 13 (average)

Verbal:
Reading Comprehension - 15 (above-average)
Critical Reasoning - 13 (above-average)
Sentence Correction - 13 (above-average)

I have no idea how "average" and "above-average" (according to the attached table) correspond to actual test scores. I write the exam in about 3.5 weeks and anything above 550 is fine. Am I on track or am I screwed?

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

Well, an average score is 540, so you if your performance is average to above-average, you should be right in the neighborhood you need. However, the Diagnostic is just there to tell you what areas you need to work on. For one thing, it doesn't tell you anything about timing. Did you time yourself on those Diagnostic q's? If you were spending more than 2 min/problem, your actual GMAT score might be well below average. Before you take the real test, you will want to take several practice CATs to get a feel for the full exam experience and make sure you are able to perform under strict time constraints.

chris709 · Answer

Excellent, thank you. There is so much conflicting information on this. I didn't time it but I would say I was over 2min per question on Quant and under 2min per question on Verbal. I'll go ahead and start on the quant. Thanks again!

KarishmaB · Answer

Since you are short on time, another thing you should do is take the free official GMAT prep test 1 from the mba.com website. It will give you an indication of your current score but more importantly, it will tell you the areas in which you are unable to perform under time constraints. That way you will know the topics with which you should start.
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if your 'Above Average' Verbal more than makes up for your 'Average' Quant since the CR and RC scores are right on the edge of 'Above Average' and 'Excellent'.

What does "average" mean on the Official GMAT diagnostic??

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