gmat paper tests

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gmat paper tests

by resilient » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:17 pm
where can one go to get the explanations to the answers for the paper tests from mba.com?
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by Prasanna » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:38 pm
I have not come across any source for explanation of the answers to the paper based tests. I am not sure whether there is one.

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paper tests

by resilient » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:54 pm
with that in mind- is it worth studying the paper tests and practicing them. I learn the best and most efficiently through ALOT OF PRACTICE. I try to do about 75-100 questions a day. I am gaining ground very nicely and dont want to lose my momentum. JUst need to know where to feed myself with the questions and the answers. THe trick is to pracitce alot and never repeat the same mistake. What do you reccomend?
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by beatthegmat » Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:06 pm
I say that it's worthwhile to use these paper tests as a source of practice problems (if there are no repeats), but don't use them as an indicator of your actual score. The computer adaptive scoring of the real GMAT is quite different than the scoring methodology for the old paper tests.
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by mayonnai5e » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:21 pm
I'd also like to add that the old paper tests contain many old problems that may appear in other official material (e.g. PowerPrep, OG 10, OG 11, OG V) so if you do the paper tests after doing some of the official stuff, your score will probably be inflated.
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:01 pm
Only use the paper test problems as problem sets - don't even bother taking a whole paper test at once and calculating a score. The CAT is a very different best.
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by mjjking » Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:58 am
Is the paper based test score so wrong?
I hope so! I took gmatprep and I got 710, while in the paper based test I got a 650! :shock: The fact is: I missed only 10 questions out of 52v in the Q part and 10 out of 56 in the V part!
There's something wrong!! Should I worry?
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:27 am
The paper-based test uses a scoring algorithm that is completely different than the CAT. The two tests shouldn't be taken in the same way (in order to maximize your score, anyway).

Don't use the paper-based tests as a gauge of your CAT score. It's not necessarily an appropriate indicator. You can use paper-based questions as great practice - but don't think the score is representative of the CAT. It may not be all that representative, depending upon how you take the test.
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by pJackson79 » Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:33 pm
I have found that the timing for the paper tests is radically different than that of the CAT. I used the paper tests (go to a library, they may well have them for free in the reference section) as a problem bank and I thought they were helpful. The test has definitely gotten harder though if the free CAT is any measure.
Last edited by pJackson79 on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Bara » Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:04 pm
This is always a debatable topic.

The CAT and paper tests ARE graded very differently, have a different spread of questions [(easy-medium-hard) vs. the spread of the CAT tests] however, we've found the scores to be reliable. The paper tests feature material written by the test makers. So: it doesn't get much better than that.

Ultimately, see what you feel comfortable with...no matter what, do as much practice as you can before the test: that will help your score the most.

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by ken3233 » Fri Mar 27, 2009 10:05 pm
I am finding that my scores on old GMAT paper-and-pencil tests are similar to my scores on the two GMATPrep computerized tests. Also, when I was preparing for the GRE, my scores on old the GRE paper-and-pencil tests were similar to my scores on the GRE Powerprep computerized tests. My real GRE score (computerized test) was comparable to all my prep test scores, both computerized and paper-and-pencil.

Thus, my conclusion is that a person's score on the old GMAT paper-and-pencil tests is an excellent indication of that person's likely score on the computerized GMAT.

The only downside to using the old paper-and-pencil tests for practice is that they duplicate many questions in the OG guides.

Now, I'm afraid to start using the OG books because I'm worried about spoiling my experience on the GMAT paper-and-pencil tests. For me the OG books will be the final stage of my studying.

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by Bara » Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:57 pm
Well, if you stick to your plan, your saving grace is that the most recent OG books are not all about 'timing' they're mostly about material... so if it's your last phase of your test prep -- plan on figuring out how to keep your timing 'limber.'

On the other hand, The Official Guide 8th edition, had ALL timed sets of material - - which are great for timed practice...available still, on ebay if not elsewhere.

Good Luck!
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by ken3233 » Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:00 pm
Bara wrote:Well, if you stick to your plan, your saving grace is that the most recent OG books are not all about 'timing' they're mostly about material... so if it's your last phase of your test prep -- plan on figuring out how to keep your timing 'limber.'

On the other hand, The Official Guide 8th edition, had ALL timed sets of material - - which are great for timed practice...available still, on ebay if not elsewhere.

Good Luck!
The information about the OG8 is very helpful. I wasn't aware of the existence of this book. Thanks.