Experimental questions on RC ?

[sui generis]

Hi Rebecca,

I would like to know about experimental questions in RC: does the test have whole of the RC as experimental or single questions distributed across different RCs ? As there has been a myth that of the four RCs one whole RC (with 3/4 questions) is experimental.

Many thanks.

[OfficialGMAT]

Hello, Sui. I can certainly assure you that the myth that of the four RCs you encounter in the exam, one will be experimental is just that-a myth. The number and type of experimental questions within each section is not publicly available, nor is it the same for every exam.

The experimental items are distributed throughout the test and it is not possible to skip items, because the CAT algorithm will use your answer to help pick the next question. Your section score depends on which items were chosen, your responses to the items (right or wrong), and the total number of items completed.

[SolomonBryant]

Hi Rebecca,

I had a quick question about this issue. The following e-mail response was received by another forum poster:

"As with the algorithms, the process for experimental items is the same for every examinee and every instance. Each examinee will receive the same number of experimental items as every other examinee, without regard to current or past performance. The questions that count and the questions that do not are fixed for the administration, and the score would not be manipulated by selecting the experimental items after reviewing performance on all items.

I hope this helps clarify your concerns.

Alex from the GMAC Team"

Doesn't this indicate that the number of experimental questions is indeed constant?

Thank you in advance for clarifying.


-Solomon

[OfficialGMAT]

Hello, Solomon.

The statement on the non-scoring questions is true and refers to the verbal section. Reading Comprehension is not a section, it is a question type that is part of the verbal reasoning section.

I hope that clarifies.

Rebecca