Logic used by GMAT to calculate the percentile

mandarchougule wrote:Hi,

Can anyone enlighten me about the logic used by GMAT calculate the percentile of the candidate? I know accuracy matters a lot, particularly for the first few questions. However I read somewhere that the time you take to solve each question also is taken into account. So if I try to focus on accuracy of first fifteen problems by spending too much of time, then GMAT will evaluate my percentile differently than otherwise.

There's a lot of bad information out there about the GMAT scoring algorithm. You should read this article https://www.mba.com/mbacommunity/MBA_com ... -gmat.aspx about the scoring algorithm, which was written by a GMAC (the firm that owns and administers the GMAT) psychometrician. Sources don't get much more official than that.

In a nutshell, though, the first few questions are not worth more than the others in any meaningful sense, and how much time you spend to get a question right is not factored into your score. To quote the article, "To summarize: Your score is based on the questions that were administered to you and whether you got them right or wrong in addition to how many questions you completed.

Bottom line: Don't be fooled by the rumors you may hear about CATs. On the GMAT, all the questions are important, not just the first few. At the same time, it is important that you finish. There's no need to stress if a problem looks easier than the last one-it doesn't mean you got the last one wrong. Just answer every question to the best of your ability within the time allotted, without worrying about whether it is the first one or the last one, or whether you got the previous one right or wrong."

To add to the above detail, you have to finish the section before the time expires; if you leave any questions on the table before the time you will be penalized severely.