690 MGMAT to 570 GMATPrep - help!

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690 MGMAT to 570 GMATPrep - help!

by ladistar » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:03 pm
OK, I just took a GMATPrep practice today. Very disapointed - ended up with 32V and 38 Q. HOWEVER, this deviated greatly from my MGMAT score of 680. Even when taking into account standard deviations for the two algorithims, this decrease seems greatly unwarranted.

Another thing that's weird is that I answered less questions incorrectly this time around (-14 on both, as opposed to -14 and -17). What's stranger is that while my raw score was better on Verbal this time around, my percentile dropped from 38 V to 32 V! As for Quant, number stayed the same, but it dropped from 44Q to 38Q.

Here's the thing: I got ahead in both sections so fast that I ended up taking a massive amount of time/problem by the middle of either section. For instance, there was a RC passage about 40 minutes in, during which I took a 4-5 minute bathroom break since I was making such good time. On both sections, I was easily spending in excess of 3 minutes/problem during the latter halves of each. I admit that it was kind of lazy of me, but I was intentionally taking more time per question to see how much I could get away with, so to speak.

So my question is: do you think that the poor pacing/timing can really account for such a huge drop, when taking into account the fact that I got more questions correct on each section? Is it better to be even paced and finish either section, say, 10-20 minutes before as opposed to taking more time overall for each section and thus taking more time/question ?

And for the record, I got the same amount of "first ten" questions right in GMATPrep Quant as on the MGMAT, and about one less on the GMATPrep than on the Verbal counterpart this time around.
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by wgrau » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:02 pm
First of all, dis-spell any thoughts that the number right/wrong has any correlation to your scaled or total score. THERE IS NO CORRELATION AT ALL!!! The test is adaptive and people with the same number right/wrong can be identical for two test takers and their scores will not be the same.

In terms of you pacing. Without a detailed analysis it is difficult to determine exactly, bu I would hazard a guess that on your GMAT Prep test you got more wrong in the beginning (when you were rushing) than compared to your MGMAT test. While on an individual question to question basis your timing will vary greatly, you should try to keep an even pace through the entirety of the test. i.e. - data suff might take only a minute, but PS takes longer than the 2 min average allowed. SC might take 45 seconds on ave. while CR takes 2 minutes.

Part of the reason you want to take practice tests is to hone your pacing and endurance. Don't feel rushed. Take the time you have and try to have a few extra minutes towards the end just in case.

Lastly, don't try to compare scores from different testing companies. They each have their own scoring methods. If are going to use different tests, use them only to build your pacing and endurance, and to identify errors you make. The scores matter very little in comparison to one another.

MGMAT has a number of tests you can use when you buy one of their products. This is probably the least expensive option for someone wanting a consistent test bank without having to buy a whole prep course.

Good luck..