A sudden (and confusing) score rise

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A sudden (and confusing) score rise

by rahulabhatia » Thu Aug 26, 2010 9:58 pm
I took a Knewton GMAT diagnostic test in the first week of August with a score of 480 (Q:25, V:31) after signing up for the course. A week or so later, I tried a Princeton test in which I scored 490.

Both scores were nowhere near the above-700 goal I have in mind.

While the scores weren't encouraging, I wasn't upset about them either. These were, after all, my first tests in ten years. So I studied the first chapter of Manhattan GMAT's number properties book (work doesn't leave me with much time to study) and attended Knewton's verbal classes.

So imagine my surprise when I took another Knewton test yesterday and scored 600 (Q:35, V:39). While I was happy about the improvement, I began to have doubts about it. I hadn't studied geometry, or algebra, or square roots, or anything other than basic math. As for SC and RC, while I felt an improvement, I didn't think it was *that* much of an improvement.

My official test date is November 16, and I'm a little worried about the scoring rise.

How accurate are these tests? Have others witnessed sudden score movements, either improvements or dips?

Most importantly, I'd like some clarity on how to look at this score. Should I take it seriously? Is this one test a good barometer of where I stand right now? Or do I need to do a couple more tests to judge my place?
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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:48 pm
Take an official GMATPrep test to see where you stand right now. I had a student score a 570 on an "800 Score" exam and then a 700 on the actual test a few days later. It is common to have scores move around more on unofficial tests. These tests are better used to help you prepare for the exam rather than to predict your score. The good news is that many of these unofficial tests have much better additional features such as breakdowns of different areas of math and tracking of how you are doing on time. I bet the Knewton tests have some of these as well.

Just today I was working with a tutoring student using the new Veritas "Progress Reports" that test each student in the different areas of math and verbal. It showed which areas needed to be improved and referred the student back to the relevant parts of the course books. You will never see that from the official GMAT! The GMATPrep is less user friendly but more accurate of a predictor. Just be sure to write down your score that appears on the screen at the end of the GMATPrep test, it will not come back and you cannot get the info any other way!

Good luck!
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