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OG13 - Do questions get harder?

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OG13 - Do questions get harder?

by topperdoggle » Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:37 am
I'm 75 questions into Problem Solving, and I find some questions much easier than others. Is there any truth in the rumour that in the book, the higher-numbered questions are harder? Trying to see if it's random or if I'm just very weak in some areas.
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Apr 30, 2013 11:03 am
It states on the cover that the questions are "Organized in order of difficulty to save study time"!
So yes, the latter questions are considered "more difficult."

However, please remember what "more difficult" means. It essentially means that more people miss the question, right? So an 80th percentile question means that - roughly - 80 percent of people would miss it, or more precisely that a person who is in the 80th percentile would likely get it right while a 70th percentile person might not.

So, difficulty is not the same thing as "harder" or "easier." Easier and harder are how something seems to you. So you have some areas that are easier for you, even though they might be considered more difficult questions on the exam. And, as you have seen in the first 75 questions, even some lower difficulty questions will appear harder to some people.

The OG13 does not really get to the 99th or even the 95th percentile with the questions. This book is designed for most test-takers - meaning the group between the 30th and the 70th percentiles. So while the questions do get more difficult as you go, it is not like the start the 10th percentile and go to the 99th. It is more like the 40th to the 80th for the vast majority of questions.
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by topperdoggle » Thu May 02, 2013 5:53 am
Thanks - I knew I'd read that somewhere. Still hard to believe though as to me some seem so easy, and some are painful!
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by Matt@VeritasPrep » Sat May 11, 2013 12:21 pm
topperdoggle wrote:Thanks - I knew I'd read that somewhere. Still hard to believe though as to me some seem so easy, and some are painful!
The ordering isn't perfect, and part of the problem is that "difficulty" is determined by how many people got a given question right, not how absolutely difficult it is. There are plenty of tough questions on which most people guess the same, correct answer, so those questions are rated less "difficult" than other, honeypot type questions that are relatively simple but have a great trap answer to lure in the average testtaker.
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by bpolley00 » Sat May 11, 2013 5:53 pm
David, what would you say the best source is for 70%+ questions?
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by lunarpower » Mon May 13, 2013 3:39 am
topperdoggle wrote:I'm 75 questions into Problem Solving, and I find some questions much easier than others. Is there any truth in the rumour that in the book, the higher-numbered questions are harder? Trying to see if it's random or if I'm just very weak in some areas.
The best advice regarding "difficulty levels" is to ignore them completely ... unless you write GMAT problems.

As a test taker, you will have no idea whatsoever of the "difficulty level" of the questions you're facing -- a notion that is proved, in fact, by the very question you're asking here!
So, it's pointless to formulate a strategy that depends on "difficulty level", because you won't know it.

Just focus on two things -- (a) solving the problems, and (b) managing time well. That's it.

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... 02/05/446/
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon May 13, 2013 8:53 am
Lunar is right. Focus on why you get questions wrong, not what the result of you getting the question wrong means.
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