GMAT Prep Test Accuracy

[HW]

Hello everyone,

My test is this Saturday so I took my final GMAt prep test yesterday and scored a 640, which is ok since all I need is a 600. However, someone told me that the real gmat is much tougher and you can expect a much lower score. Is this true?

[isisalaska]

Not necessarily. Tthe GMAT prep is a good indicator of your performance. Godd luck!

[manishhemnani]

Hello everyone,

My test is this Saturday so I took my final GMAt prep test yesterday and scored a 640, which is ok since all I need is a 600. However, someone told me that the real gmat is much tougher and you can expect a much lower score. Is this true?

Don't worry. GMATPrep is good representative of the actual test. Infact 2 of my friends, who recently took GMAT scored highest in the actual test, even more than any of their scores in practice tests. Just be confident and give your best shot.

All the best!!! Do let us know your experience.

[Stacey Koprince]

Just be aware that the official GMAT has a standard deviation of 29 points. GMAC has not released the figure for the GMATPrep software, but the software should have a higher standard deviation b/c it is only a subset of the real thing (and, therefore, not as statistically valid).

What does it mean to have a st.dev. of 29? Take your 640. If that had been the real test, you could expect a 2/3 chance of scoring between a 610 and a 670 if you took it again, and you could expect a 1/3 chance of scoring below a 610 or above a 680 if you took it again.

In other words, the standard deviation is pretty large - and that's on the real thing. The standard deviation on any test that just mimics the real thing is going to be even larger.