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Percentile rankings

by machichi » Sun Jul 29, 2012 8:49 pm
I am curious if GMAC has ever tracked or release data on the number of people who score above, say a 700 for example. The percentiles, as I understand them, are based on the number of exams taken, not what percent of people have received that score. With so many people taking the exam 2, 3 even 5 times, I bet a large number of people actually receive that coveted 700+ score. Basically I'm incredulous of the implication that a 700 means that you outperformed 90% of people. Really it just means that thousands take the exam the first time and don't do as well as they'd like and retake until they get the score they want.

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by OfficialGMAT » Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:14 pm
Hi, Machici. You are correct that the Percentile Ranking table is based on the total number of exams taken during the timeframe reported, not the total number of people who have taken the exam. However, it is not that case that any test-taker can retake the exam as many times as necessary until he achieves a 700. While this may be true for a very small number of test-takers, the likelihood that a test-taker will score a 700 or above often depends on whether or not he had a high score on the first attempt.

About one-fifth of test-takers retake the exam, and they take the exam 2 -3 times. Some take four times or more, but most repeat test-takers are just repeating one or two times. Those retaking the exam may score higher and often can expect some score gains. For example, those who score between 600 and 690 may expect an average score increase of about 20 points when retaking the exam. However, the score gain is much smaller than 20 points with more attempts. Please keep in mind that scores can also go down. You can learn more about repeat testing here: https://www.gmac.com/~/media/Files/gmac/ ... esting.pdf.
Leah
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by machichi » Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:33 pm
I love this PDF, so interesting. Thanks, Rebecca!
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