Beat The GMAT

thirst · Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:03 pm

I just finished taking my first CAT as part of my course. I found the interface to be slow/freeze up after answering sometimes. Usually it would only be a momentary 1-2 second processing, it was especially long during one instance. When I submitted my answer for question 33 for the math section, I noticed there was about 47 seconds left. I clicked the submit button and then the screen basically went blank. After waiting for 2 minutes, I shut down the browser and restarted. The interface was able to take me back to the test, but the time had expired and it did not register my answer for Q33, which after reviewing would have been correct. Any idea why this happens? I do have DSL connection, and do not have any problems with browsing.

I only answered 32 on math, but managed to answer all of my verbal questions. I incorrectly answered 4 on Q, aside from the 5 that I was unable to answer. I incorrectly answered 12 on verbal! I am somewhat surprised that I missed 11 and managed to get a 97 percentile on verbal, is this correct?
48Q
44V
720 overall

My correct responses/questions break down by difficulty is as follows:
35/48 high questions
1/1 low question
21/25 medium

Is there any kind of statistical meaning in the high incidence of high difficulty questions? Also, just one low difficulty seems to be beyond my expectations? I would have though the ratio of medium/low would have been higher.

Thanks for any insights.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving

John

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Stuart Kovinsky · Sat Nov 29, 2008 12:19 am

Hi John,

don't forget, the test is a CAT, just like the real GMAT. In other words, it's adaptive, so if you're getting questions correct they just get harder and harder. That's why you saw so few low/medium difficulty questions.

As for the score, far more GMAT test takers excel at math than verbal and an equivalent pattern of correct answers will generate a higher score on the verbal side than the math one (which is why your lower verbal scaled score translated to a higher verbal percentile rank).

For your techincal difficulties, I'd start by talking to your local Centre. Are you taking the course online or live? If live, don't hesitate to ask your teacher for assistance, as he or she will either be able to help you directly or point you toward the person who can. We do have a toll free number for tech support for all of our students (although there may be limited availability this weekend because of Thanksgiving). Your problem may be related to your operating system, browser or version of Flashplayer, rather than your connection.

In any case, congrats on a great practice CAT! Sounds like if you get that math timing under control you're well on your way to an outstanding performance on test day.

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thirst · Sat Nov 29, 2008 12:44 am

Thanks for the response Stuart. I do realize that it is an adaptive test, but but was still nevertheless surprised to see more than 65% of my questions to be of the "hard" variety. I am taking a live class now and will speak with my instructor about the CAT and technical difficulties I encountered.

Regards

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thirst · Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:58 pm

Stuart,

Do you have any insight into the conversion of Kaplan's CAT scaled scores into overall scores?

Based on the GMAT score calculator at http://www.800score.com/score2.php, a 48Q, 44V would be scored roughly a 750. Kaplan scores that as a 720...

I took another CAT today, scoring a 45Q, 52V. Kaplan also scores that a 720, while that score calculator would have scored it a 770.

I am also puzzled by the 52V score, as I have scored very erratically on V. While I have spent time working on verbal strategies and took the prior tests listed before before my Kaplan class spent time on the verbal sections, I am nevertheless surprised by the score. The past few Kaplan CATs are as follows:
CAT1 48Q 44V
CAT2 49Q 31V
CAT3 50Q 34V

My poor scores both had numerous mistakes in sentence correction. Is a scaled score of >51 on Kaplan odd? My classmate scored a 52 in q, so it seems to be awarded more frequently than I thought.

Thanks for your time.

John

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Stuart Kovinsky · Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:24 am

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thirst · Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:59 am

While I agree that Kaplan has a wonderful R&D budget, and I don't trust this site to calculate scores either, a 45Q 51(52)v should probably be higher than a 720 based on all the observations I see in the "I Beat the GMAT" section of this forum. My roommate scored a 49Q 42V, and that translated to a 750. I also recognize that these observations are a small sampling size, but it befuddles me nevertheless.

Certainly you have had many students report back to you their scores - does a 45Q 51(52)V equating to a 720 sound about right?

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