Confusing CAT Score

[MarshallFaulk3]

Hi there,
I just took the 3rd CAT exam and scored a nice 710 (92%).
However, the composition of my score looks really weird and confusing.
I scored 42 on quant (57%) and 45 (99%) on verbal.

Now the confusing part:
First, I felt very comfortable with my quant section. Looking back at my answers: Sure, I had a good amount of questions wrong, but the test only gave me questions from the range of 700-800 or 600-700 (except the first, which was a 500-600 and I had it right). I had most of the 600-700 correct. The GMAT % value for a total score of 600 is about 62%. So for me it is hard to believe, that my quant score is so far below the 62%, especially because the test didn't give me any questions within the 57% range.

Second, I know that I have a strong verbal background (I scored between the 95% and 98% on the TOEFL IBT). However, the TOEFL is primarily (if not solely) taken by non-native speakers, while the GMAT verbal part is also taken by natives. I am German and learned English only in school and a year abroad. Thus, it is hard for me to believe, that I truly performed within the 99% range.

Could anyone possibly clarify what I am understanding wrong?

Thanks a lot in advance!!

[StaceyKoprince]

That combination is the correct combo. The overall score is not an average of the two scores; rather, it's a complex mechanism that has to do with how your combination of skills fits the overall population's skills. It's very unusual to score in the 99th percentile on one section, so that very much lifts your score.

The percentile rankings on the 3-digit scores don't correspond to the percentile rankings on the 2-digit (sub-section) scores. You can't do the comparison that you did - it just doesn't work that way.

All of these tests have standard deviations, so it's possible that your score on the real test will be lower (or higher). You did earn that 45 in verbal on that particular test, but it's possible that this is your peak "in the zone" score and that if you took a bunch of tests, your "average" score would be somewhat lower than the 45 (but still in the 90s, likely).

One question on your quant score: did your performance drop towards the end of the section? Did you start to run out of time or get mentally tired and get more questions wrong? The sections are scored on a "where you end is what you get" principle - your final score is not an average across the section, but literally just wherever you end. As a result, you could have a strong performance for much of the section, but if you drop at the end... well, where you end is what you get. Let me know.