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Explain score descrepancies between MGMAT and GMATPrep...

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Explain score descrepancies between MGMAT and GMATPrep...

by cata1yst » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:32 pm
I understand CATs are adaptive and obviously the more right in a row you get the tougher questions become, but for some reason I just can't understand the descrepancy in the GMATPrep exam I took tonight compared to the MGMAT CATs.

I just don't buy that 12 wrong in verbal results in a split of 34. I would expect something around the 39-41 range. I don't understand how that big of difference in the number wrong can't have any swing in the split (I got a 35 split in MGMAT in verbal with 19 wrong). I get a decent number less wrong and end up with a much lower score with GMATPrep.

I would think with less wrong I faced enough 700-800 level questions to have a higher score. Did I just get all of the high level questions wrong? I don't get it. Are these programs scoring algorithms just THAT different??? This discrepancy is making me feel uneasy to say the least. I feel like I have no idea where I stand for the actual test in a few weeks. The results of my 5 tests are below...does anyone have any insight?!

Thanks!!!



I have taken 4 MGMAT CATs:

1. 620 (Q: 45 V: 31) 6/6/09

Quant - 18 wrong; 4 wrong in the first 10
Verbal - 20 wrong; 4 wrong in the first 10

2. 650 (Q: 44 V: 35) 6/14/09

Quant - 17 wrong; 4 wrong in the first 10
Verbal - 19 wrong; 3 wrong in the first 10

3. 720 (Q: 44 V: 45) 6/29/09

Quant - 17 wrong; 4 wrong in the first 10
Verbal - 12 wrong; 5 wrong in the first 10

4. 690 (Q: 44 V: 39) 7/4/09

Quant - 17 wrong; 4 wrong in the first 10
Verbal - 15 wrong; 5 wrong in the first 10



GMATPrep:

1. 650 (Q: 45 V: 34) 7/8/09

Quant - 13 wrong; 2 wrong in the first 10
Verbal - 12 wrong; 3 wrong in the first 10
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by cata1yst » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:35 am
Anyone have this same thing happen? Or anyone have any idea?
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by DanaJ » Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:02 am
Trust GMATprep. It uses the same algorithm as the real thing, so there's nothing more precise than that. Test prep companies try to replicate the algorithm, but of course what they come up with isn't quite like the original.
A 34 with 12 mistakes is actually quite reasonable. In one of my very first GMATprep tests, I had 10 mistakes with a 36; later, I got 44 with 4 mistakes. The GMAT is pretty harsh when it comes to verbal...
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by zuleron » Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:07 am
What I heard was that GMAT is + or - 30 points, whereas MGMAT is + or - 50 points.

GMAT prep is very unforgiving of mistakes in Verbal. A single error can drop your scaled score 2 points. In quant the opposite is the case. A single error more often than not has no effect on your scaled score (it is consecutive errors that kill you in quant). So you can get 16 wrong in Quant and get 44, but get 6 wrong in Verbal and get 41. I never had problems in verbal so I have not analysed it the way I have quant, but in quant, you can get 16 wrong, and score high, they just have to be very difficult 16 questions.
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