My Score Dropped! Figuring Out What Went Wrong
Im reviving an old article I first wrote five years ago (time flies!) because the topic is so important. I hope that no one ever again experiences a significant score drop on the real test (or even a practice one!), but the reality is that this does happen. The big question: now what?
If this happens to you, the most important thing to do next is figure out why this happened. If you can figure out why, then you may be able to do something to prevent a score drop from happening again.
1: Official Test Conditions
Did you take your practice tests under official test conditions? Did you:
- do the essay and IR sections?
- take only two 8-minute breaks (the first between IR and quant, the second between quant and verbal)?
- complete the test in one sitting (e.g., you didnt do the verbal section later that evening or the next day)?
- pause the test, look at books or notes, eat and drink during the test, or do anything else that wouldnt be allowed on test day
If you did not take your practice tests under official testing conditions, then your practice scores were likely inflatedpossibly just a little or possibly a lot, depending upon how far you were from official test conditions. If your practice test scores were inflated, then the bad news is that your scoring level wasnt as good as you thought it was. In other words, your official test didnt represent as much of a drop as you first thought (and, possibly, the official test didnt represent any drop at all).
While this is not great news, it is crucial to know, because it tells you what the problem is. You need to figure out in which areas youre falling short and do what you need to do (math, grammar, time management, problem-solving skills) in order to improve. (And dont forget to take tests under official conditions in future, so that you get a true picture of your current scoring level.)
2: Timing
Mismanaged timing might be the most common cause of big score drops on the test. If your scores keep jumping up and down on practice tests and youre not sure why, your timing may be the culprit.
Timing is so crucial because of certain consequences that can kill your score. You tend to make more careless mistakes when youre rushing. You may get multiple questions wrong in a row. You may run out of time entirely before the section is over. All of these things will have a negative impact on your score.
There are two major categories for mismanaged timing: too slow and too fast. These two categories lead to three common scenarios:
- Run out of time before the section is over
- Finish the section with lots of time left
- Finish just on timebut a review of the timing patterns shows that you spent too long on some, then rushed on others to catch up. (We call this up and down timing.)
The vast majority of students who mismanage time badly enough to experience a big score drop will do so by going too slowly at some point on the test and, consequently, either running out of time with questions left or being forced to move too quickly at other points, thereby increasing the error rate.
People do sometimes move too quickly throughout an entire section because of general test anxiety; if you finish with more than 5 minutes left, you definitely moved too quickly through that section, and likely made careless mistakes as a result.
The common factor in either scenario: going too quickly at some point. Going too quickly basically equates to giving yourself lots of chances to miss lower-level problems, because most people will try to make up time by going faster on problems that they know how to do.
The death spiral (otherwise known as my score dropped in a big way!) occurs when you start to get a lot of lower-level problems wrong that you knew how to get rightif only you werent rushing and making mistakes.
If timing is part of your problem (and timing is a problem for almost everyone taking the GMAT!), first learn what the GMAT really tests. Then, break that habit of thinking that if you just spend a little more time, youre sure that youll figure it out. Finally, learn everything you need to know about time management on the GMAT.
3: Stamina
Did you prepare yourself adequately for the stamina required to perform at a high mental level for more than 3.5 hours? Did you:
- take the tests under official conditions? (including essay, IR, and breakssee section 1)
- let go on the too-hard questions so that you dont use up precious brain energy that youll need later in the test? (Also see section 2 of this article.)
- have a consistent sleep schedule the week before the exam?
- avoid taking a second test (practice or official) within a few days of taking another practice test? Generally wind down your studies and not do too much in the last couple of days before the official test?
- eat good energy food before the test and during the breaks, drink liquids to stay hydrated, and stretch or do light exercise to loosen up and get your blood flowing?
This is a long test; stamina is critical to your ability to perform well. Dont tire yourself out in the days before the official test (dont study too much, dont take a practice test within a few days of the real thing, etc.). And experiment with food and liquid until you find a combination that gives you good energy without making you overly stimulated (too much caffeine is a bad thing).
In addition, many people skip the essay and/or IR sections on practice tests and then see a substantial drop on the verbal section of the official test. People are surprised when this happens, but if you use your Critical Reasoning skills, it shouldnt be that surprising! If you dont do the early sections, then youre only spending about 2.5 hours on your practice tests. The real thing, with the essays, will take a bit more than 3.5 hours. Your brain is, quite simply, not prepared to last for that entire 3.5 hour period and verbal is the last section.
Thats why, although nobody cares about the essay score and IR is still not very important, I still tell my students to do those two sections on every practice test. Your mental stamina is going to affect your quant and verbal scores, and you do care (very much!) about those scores, so you have to make sure youre prepared to function at a high level for the entire 3.5 hour length of the test.
4: Anxiety
The test is a nerve-wracking situation for everyone, but some people experience anxiety symptoms that are strong enough to interfere with rational thinking and the ability to perform. Meditation has been shown to help people stay more calm in testing situations so that youre able to show what youre capable of doing on the test.
If you are experiencing physical symptoms (nausea, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing), you should consult a medical professional.
The most important thing to remember
If you can figure out what went wrong, then you can do something to prevent another score drop in futureso do take the time to think through everything that happened. Also, use the Manhattan GMAT community to helpyour fellow students and the GMAT experts on our forums can be great resources in helping you figure out what went wrong and what to do next.