BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Please, need your help to understand my score!

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:12 pm

Please, need your help to understand my score!

by Shiram » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:21 am
Hello, guys!

I'm planning to pass the GMAT at the end of February, i.e. this month with a score at least 550.

As for now, I did 2 practice tests by Princeton Review. The following is my score:

1) 490/ M 36/ V 22. Out of math Q: 20 right and 17 wrong;
2) 510/ M 36/ V 25. Out of math Q: 26 right and 11 wrong.

According to the total amount of right questions, there is an improvement, not a big, but still. And at the same time, an overall score is still the same 36. Could you please, explain, why?
I'm aware of th first 10 questions. In both cases, I did 8 rights and 2 wrong.
What other factored can influence the score?

Can any of you, give me a hint how to get out of this 30th range and be in 40th for the math section?

Thanks a lot,

Shiram
Top
Source: — GMAT Strategy |
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pm
Location: New York City
Thanked: 68 times
Followed by:37 members
GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:41 pm
Misconceptions about the meanings of raw scores and about the ways the algorithm actually works continue to perpetuate on these boards. A few important notes:

1) Every practice test (except the GMATPrep ones) contain Experimental Questions that are unscored, just like the real test. This means that you don't really know what your Raw Score is. If of your 17 wrong, 5 were Experimental, and then on your second test, of the 11 wrong, only 2 were Experimental, the raw scores are much more similar. As a result, don't try to figure out your scaled score from your raw score.

2) The first ten questions do not matter significantly more. You are free to test this out with any practice test; if you get 8 right in the first 10 but then do poorly elsewhere, that is not likely to be any better than getting 4 right in the first 10 but then doing better elsewhere. The algorithm takes into account all the questions you answer and does not give greater weight to any of them. It figures out your ability level and does a damn good job of it. There's no way to game the system other than to increase your actual ability with concept mastery and improved strategy -- do not spend more time at the beginning of a section as this strategy has been proven faulty and is not recommend by any of the test-prep companies that specialize in GMAT.

3) The test is Adaptive. We say this over and over again, but what we mean by it isn't always clear. What it means is that your scaled score is a reflection of the algorithm's determination of your ability level. If the algorithm thinks you're really smart, it will give you a bunch of hard questions that you don't have to get right because it's not expecting you to; it's just confirming the ceiling of your ability level, once it's satisfied that your floor is pretty high. If the algorithm is still confused about you, it may give you easier/harder questions back and forth to see where you really fall, so you'll see more easy questions, get more right as a result, but end up with the same ability estimate. Every test is different and it is NOT a linear game where each question narrows down your score range -- it is a complex algorithm that is guessing your ability level, NOT focusing on the difficulty level of the individual questions. As a result, you cannot determine your scaled score based on your raw score (again) because the algorithm doesn't work that way!

The reason your math score on the two practice tests is the same is because your ability level was about the same. If you improve your strategy and/or concept mastery in the GMAT Quantitative section, your scaled score will go up. Try not to pay attention to the raw score at all; you will not ever even know your raw score on the real test! Instead, focus on which concepts you're missing or which questions strategically tricked you, and improve your ability in those areas.

Good luck!
Prep Smarter, Score Higher
www.knewton.com
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:12 pm

by Shiram » Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:05 pm
Amazing!
AdamKnewton, thank you so much for your detail explanation. As far as I understood, the amount of right answer is not as important as its difficulty level. For example, even if I tackle 50% advanced questions, I can get a decent score. Right?
But how to get to that level? Probably, it's a rhetorical question. Do you think, whether I'm able to get a desire 550 in 3 weeks?

Thanks,
Marina
Top
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 132
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pm
Location: New York City
Thanked: 68 times
Followed by:37 members
GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:29 am
Shiram wrote:Amazing!
AdamKnewton, thank you so much for your detail explanation. As far as I understood, the amount of right answer is not as important as its difficulty level. For example, even if I tackle 50% advanced questions, I can get a decent score. Right?
But how to get to that level? Probably, it's a rhetorical question. Do you think, whether I'm able to get a desire 550 in 3 weeks?

Thanks,
Marina
You are right that it's a rhetorical question -- the higher your ability level, the higher you'll end up scoring, even though the raw score may not matter much. Even people scoring in the 600s get a LOT of wrong answers, but it's only at the high difficulty level where the computer is expecting them to. So as long as you improve your abilities and your concept knowledge, your score will go up because you'll do better on the mid-level questions and see more of the high-level questions. Exactly.

From 510 to 550 in 3 weeks? Definitely possible -- with good hard work it's not at all a stretch. Focus on your weakest areas in Verbal and try to drag that score up towards 30 and you'll see massive improvements. Good luck!
Prep Smarter, Score Higher
www.knewton.com
Top
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1035
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 474 times
Followed by:365 members

by VivianKerr » Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:05 am
Hey Shiram,

Adam raises several good points. It's funny, with all of our talk of "beating" the GMAT and obsessing over scoring, we DO tend to forget that the easiest way to beat the GMAT is to simply gain the required skills! :)

As you review your Princeton Review PT's, you may find it helpful to make an Error Log, specifically to focus your attention on what types of skill areas need more work. For example, in Math, is it sequences, number properties, coordinate geometry, probability, etc? Spend some time away from GMAT, building your skills in these areas. You might be missing some valuable formulas. You can also so a search in these forums using keywords to find some questions with each skill tag.

For Verbal, you may want to re-evaluate your strategy for CR and RC. Try to put more focus/emphasis on taking notes and breaking down the argument/rhetoric for each passage. For SC, it's similar to Math in that you have to "know the skills." Make a list of the common errors: Idioms, Subject-Verb agreement, Parallelism, Pronoun-agreement, Modification, etc. and have it next to you as you study!

Good luck to you! I think a 40 point improvement in 3 weeks is well within reach! One final note: don't rely on PR practice tests as an indicator of what your final GMAT score will be. I recommend you try the Powerpreps. They are made by the test-makers and are far more accurate.

Best,
Vivian
Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"! :-)
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:12 pm

by Shiram » Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:15 pm
Adam and Vivian, your help is incredible!
From what I understand, if I can raise up my verbal score, I'll be able to reach the target limit?
For example, M 36 and V30 will work out, right?
What if I have M 40 and V 25, will it bring me to 550 Score?

Vivian, you are right, I have to concentrate more on my CR and RC. It's really an issue. I hoped that good math will bring me up to the desired level, but I see that I was wrong. And thank you for the SC strategy. Right now I'm doing 70% on SC, and 50% on both CR and RC.
You mentioned Powerpreps test. Is it one from mba.com?
Thanks,
Shiram
[[/b]
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1