MGMAT CAT quant scoring accurate?

[transfixeddreams]

I've till now given 3 MGMAT CATs and have consistently scored 47 on the Quant section. How accurate are the quant scores? I'm aiming for a 50 on the GMAT quant and have till now not been able to reach that target in the MGMAT CATs :-(

Also, I scored a 50 on the Kaplan Premier CD ROM CAT 1 quant.

[StaceyKoprince]

There is always a standard deviation on any standardized test that you take - the published deviations are usually based on the overall 3-digit scores. Our test has a standard deviation of about 50 points; the real test has a standard deviation of about 30 points.

There are also other a number of other factors that can come into play. Did you take the tests under 100% official conditions, including essays, length of breaks, and so on? Skipping the essays can lead to an inflated score. Taking a longer break can also inflate your score, while skipping the breaks would usually hurt your score. Eating and drinking during the section may also help some people. Etc.

Did you mess up the timing on any of the sections? That can also affect your score.

Finally, on the real test, there is always one X factor that you can never practice: you know that it counts (and you know that your practice tests don't count).

In terms of test questions, most people report that our quant section feels about equal to or harder than the real quant section (and most people think our quant is harder than GMATPrep quant). We do adjust for that in our scoring algorithm, however, so it isn't the case that people always see a score increase on quant on the real test - if we look at the range of performance across all students, about the same number of people score better on the real thing as score worse on the real thing.

The short answer: it's decently accurate as far as practice tests go, but be aware that all standardized tests have standard deviations, and most people are surprised to learn how large the standard deviations are. Even on the real test, it isn't the case that you'd always get the same score if you were somehow able to take it a bunch of days in a row under perfect conditions.

The practical answer: before you take the real test, your practice test scores should be in the range that you want on the real test. If you want a 50 (93rd percentile), then you should be able to hit 49-50 on at least some of your practice tests (taken under 100% official conditions including essays).