how does the CAT format work for specific question types ?

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georgepaul0071987: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 81; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:38 am; Thanked: 2 times

by georgepaul0071987 » Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:15 pm

I'm curious to know how the CAT format works for specific question types in each sub section .

For instance , let's consider the verbal section . Say a candidate is really strong in CR and answers a bunch of 700-800 level CR question correctly , does this mean the subsequent SC and RC questions he receives will be in the 700-800 level ? Or is each question type judged independently ? Meaning there could be a situation where the candidate receives 700-800 level questions in CR ( because he's strong there ) but at the same time he receives 500-600 level questions in SC and RC because he is weak there ?

Does my question make sense ?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask the Test Maker | Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:15 pm

OfficialGMAT: Official Company Rep; Posts: 669; Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:06 pmFollowed by: 270 members; Location: Washington DC; Thanked: 143 times; GMAT Score:800

by OfficialGMAT » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:52 am

That's a great question! If you've taken a practice test, you probably noticed that the question types are not all grouped together. After each question you answer, the computer updates your score to the section and chooses the next question. The difficulty is not tracked separately for question types - it is selected based on your current score. So, if you have 700-800 level CR question, then whether you answer it right or wrong can affect the difficulty of the next question, regardless of whether that next question happens to be Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction, or Reading Comprehension.

You may find our Official blog useful while you prepare for the GMAT: https://officialgmat.mba.com/2012/12/11/ ... questions/

Thanks,
Rebecca

Last edited by OfficialGMAT on Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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vomhorizon: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 194; Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:05 pmFollowed by: 8 members; Location: India; Thanked: 26 times; GMAT Score:730

by vomhorizon » Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:24 am

An important point to keep in mind for those, that think they got an easy question only because they screwed up in the last few questions..

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." - Eric Thomas

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Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:34 am

Is this accurate? The blog suggests that cumulative performance is the key, not topic specific performance.

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