Confused about GMATPrep Scoring system

[genieli]

Hi all
I am taking my GMAT in late Jan and just started my preparation yesterday. I took a GMATPrep practice test today and was quite confused about the score. I scored Q50, V38 and total of 720. However I got 10 of 37 Q wrong while only 8 of 41 V wrong. Why is my Q still much higher than my V?
I searched for relevant topics but didn't find much info? Can someone enlighten me on this? I seriously doubt I can get Q50 while got more than quater of the questions wrong.....

Thanks!

Regards
S

[missann]

Were the questions you missed near the end of the quant portion? This would explain the high score. If you do well at the beginning and middle, you'll receive a high score.

Likewise, did you miss some early verbal questions? Also, most people perform better on verbal, so you have to be near perfect to get the highest percentile.

[beatthegmat]

Congrats on that awesome first GMATPrep test! Wow, you are off to a strong start.

The GMAT is a unique standardized test because it is computer adaptive. That means that this test as an algorithm to figure out what your skill level is on this test. Thus, it's possible for a test taker to get a lot of questions wrong on the test (even more than 25% wrong) and still receive an awesome score. This is an important point because a lot of new GMAT students initially worry about % of questions they got correct, but this test simply doesn't work that way.

Just to reiterate your last point, your % correct does not necessarily map to specific raw scores. Your latest results are not surprising. If you want to learn more about how computer adaptive testing on the GMAT works, there have been a couple great articles written on this subject in Beat The GMAT. One that I like can be found here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/10/ ... ometrician

Bottom line: DO NOT focus on % correct when you take your GMAT practice tests. It's not a good use of your time trying to figure out how the test algorithm works, it will drive you nuts and provide little value. Instead, focus on understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and understanding why you got certain questions wrong--and what you should do to avoid mistakes like those in the future.

Hope that this helps, good luck!