MGMAT Scoring Questions

[Levent-g]

Hi Stacey,

reviewing my MGMAT CAT Results, when I look into the Verbal or Quant Overview the final score is the last score which appears at the last question. Once you have reached a high percentile it is difficult to hold that level, as you need to continue to answer all questions right. On the other site it is a very easy to decrease on the score, when you do a mistake.

a) Imagine you have 10 questions only and do the first 8 correct and the last 2 wrong.

b) Imagine you have 10 questions only and do the first 2 wrong and the last 8 correct.

I think the scores would differ right? The score of b would be much better right?

I am just trying to understand how the scoring works. :-)

Thanks

Levent

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, I'm sorry I'm just getting to your question now. FYI, everyone, it's going to be like this until about mid-Dec - this is our busiest time of year.

The score is so crazy complicated. The scoring is literally done by a computer algorithm - it's not something a person can calculate by hand. Even what you're seeing on screen in your score report is only a very simplified representation of what's happening (and I don't like it because it causes people to draw what seem to be perfectly reasonable conclusions - but they're wrong).

For example, the scenario you devised assumes that the main issue is what you get right, but that the questions themselves stay the same. They wouldn't though - if you got the first question right (in one scenario) vs. wrong (in the other scenario), that would change the questions you get next!

So there isn't a way for me to answer that question without getting into the algorithm and applying the true variables (with the questions changing based on your performance), etc. I really don't think you want to get into that. :)

Your bigger question though (how should I think about the scoring?), I can answer!

The test is a "where you end is what you get" test - meaning that your scoring level at the end is indeed about what your score will be. We don't want to pay a bunch of extra attention to early problems because then we'll run out of time and the score will drop by the end of the test.

That doesn't mean we can only pay attention to the later problems, though, because the earlier problems are what get us to a certain scoring level by the end of the test.

So what to do? You want a steady performance throughout the test - which sometimes means letting stuff go.

For instance, if I'm halfway through the section and 4 minutes behind, then I need to guess - randomly and immediately - on 2 questions to catch up. I don't want to do that on just any questions, nor do I want to do that on the last 2 questions. So the next 2 times a question type that I hate pops up (or a question that looks crazy hard), I'm going to guess.

(I also do NOT want to rush on 8 questions, trying to save 30 seconds each. All I'll do there is make a bunch of careless mistakes.)

I'm also going to realize that I did something to fall 4 minutes behind - I've been hanging on to some questions for too long. So I need to remind myself that, when I get my "but" feelings (but I should know how to do this), I need to move on. :)

Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

and then this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

(Go read them right now, before you keep reading my post here.)

If you learn to do what those posts say (focus on making the best decisions you can based on your limited resources - time and mental energy), then you will maximize your score based on your skill level.

If you try to get everything right (and mess up your timing) which is what almost everyone does at least to start, then you won't maximize your score.

Other questions? Let me know. :)
If you do actually want to get into the algorithm stuff a *little* bit, take a look at the Scoring section of our free e-book The GMAT Uncovered. You should already have a copy in your Student Center.

[Levent-g]

Thank you Stacey!!!

I am now studying for quite a while for the GMAT and learned a lot from MGMAT Books and also from your great posts. Especially the one on Time Mgmt is a must for anybody I think. Again thank you very much for that! :)

Regarding those two posts, they are very useful and I am already applying methods to cover that. Especially cutting off questions, which you think you are able to solve but don’t know at the moment is tough to manage. Not only you need to cut off, but you also need to learn not to get angry or disrupted for the next questions. I have really learned a lot of content and do know the vast majority of concepts. I need to learn to apply all of this under stress, fast but with accuracy in CATs.

I think content wise I am good skilled. Usually I can solve all 600-700 level questions and also some or even a lot of 700-800 level questions, applying concepts like "picking smart numbers" or apply answer choices. Within my CATs most of the questions I receive are in the 700-800 level. Also based on my assessment reports I should be on this level. I think the main problem I face currently is to apply all of this as effectively as possible when it comes to CATs. My main problem seems to be stamina and speed. In the first part of the CAT it seems I am performing very good. But towards the end and when reaching the 700-800 level, I struggle with concentration and also with time. Both seem to be linked to each other. Furthermore I think that I am too exhausted so that I need a break.

Still content wise my verbal, and especially CR and RC, is definitely my weakness. I am scoring between 31 and 41, and most of the times in the middle thirties. Compared to my quant (scores between 41 and 45) the verbal score is much more volatile since based on my experience only few wrong answers can really drop your score quite heavily. As mentioned above it seems I am getting too exhausted towards the end of the test. Especially this tiredness seems to impact CR and RC, since you need to read a lot of text on this question types.

In quant there is not much to gain for me as I did spend so much time to learn math and refresh my skills and it seems it is really hard to increase your score when you are between 41 and 45. The only concept I think I need to work on is to be able to quickly list different scenarios in the DS part instead of losing time with chaotic notes. I found something in your Advances GMAT Quant Book.

Some questions or advises needed: :)
As mentioned I have problems with Stamina and Speed towards the end but also when the CAT is bombarding me with 700-800 level questions. Is there another strategy to apply when reaching this level? Possibly cutting off more questions to refresh?

Some questions in which I can apply picking numbers do take a lot of time because they are hard to understand and structure, the question is phrased difficult and also the variables have relationships. It takes me quite a while to structure those and also then compare my target values with the results of the answer choices. Do you think I just need to get faster or are there some tricks applicable?

What worried me is when I started to do the GMAC CATs my score again dropped. I think this is due to that GMAC questions differ slightly from your questions or maybe I was just exhausted. How long in advance of the real GMAT should I start with working only OG questions?

Would you agree to say that in Verbal it seems accuracy is more important, as several wrong questions can really damage your score?

My plan for the next weeks is:
1.Increase stamina and avoid any burn out from learning. Only a couple of hours learning each day.
2.Work on Verbal, especially CR and RC, since this seems to be my main weakness.
3.Speed drills, solving 20-30 questions in max. 30 minutes.
4.I hope avoiding careless mistakes comes with getting refreshed.
5.Will stick more to OG GMAC questions.

Again Thanks Thanks Thanks :))

[StaceyKoprince]

Not only you need to cut off, but you also need to learn not to get angry or disrupted for the next questions.

Picture this: you're standing on a tennis court. The other person hits a good shot. You think you should be able to get it, but you miss it, or you hit it into the net.

Now, you turn to your friend on the other side of the net, glare at her, and say in an angry voice, "I should have had that! You shouldn't have won that point!!"

:) You probably wouldn't keep your friend for very long.

And, really, you're not that upset about missing it. It's just one point. And you know you're going to lose a bunch of points. After all, how boring would it be to play a tennis match against someone and win EVERY SINGLE POINT! You'd start to feel bad for the other person.

So turn this into a tennis match. Not only aren't you that upset when you lose one point, you outright EXPECT to lose many points over the course of the match. That's okay - you just want to win more than your opponent. :)

But towards the end and when reaching the 700-800 level, I struggle with concentration and also with time.

You can fix this if you learn to cut yourself off effectively on the too-hard problems. Think about it: your brain is getting tired towards the end of the section. It would be less tired if you stopped trying to answer the absolute hardest questions and instead cut yourself off faster. You would then have the energy you need to finish off that section (and then take a short break).

You're not just saving time when you cut yourself off. You're also saving mental energy. There are times that a question will pop up and I'll think "No, thanks - not interested" even when I have the time! When the question is going to take too much brain energy, I consider NOT doing the stupid problem in the first place!

Back to our tennis analogy: you can run flat out for every single ball. But, at some point, you're going to run out of energy. You need to make sure you have energy till the end of the match, so it's to your advantage to realize that you're not going to get to a certain ball - don't waste energy running for it.

So, yes, to answer both of your questions about cutting yourself off on some questions. If something's too complicated or going to take too much time, forget it. Figure out how to guess, then move on.

As far as we can tell, the algorithm works the same way on both quant and verbal - there isn't a significant difference in the way that getting a question wrong will affect your score. I'm guessing you might be reacting to different question difficulty levels on RC. On RC, though, the 3 or 4 questions are chosen for you at the start of the passage - they are not adaptive within the passage. Further, some question types (such as main idea) are just inherently easier than others, so you may get a question wrong and then see a much easier Main Idea... but that question was already chosen for you before you answered the first question!

Here are some resources for you on RC and CR:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... reasoning/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/

Careless mistakes:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Speed drills, solving 20-30 questions in max. 30 minutes.

This is fine as long as you know that your goal is NOT to get everything right in that time. It's about how to make the best decisions about how to spend your time and mental energy, which sometimes does mean letting something go.

Finally, re: your question about doing OG questions (vs. ours or questions from another non-official source), it's not a good idea to be doing only non-official questions for long periods of time. We (the test prep companies) all do our absolute best to mimic the real test questions, but we are still not the real test writers. So do some of our questions, yes, but also do OG questions throughout your studies.

[Levent-g]

Hi Stacey,

Concerning the algorithm difference in verbal compared to quant, I had this impression when checking the percentile drops and rises after doing the CATs. But after rechecking I think I may be wrong. The score drops quite heavily when and you are above 90 percentile and then answering something wrong. It is quite clear on this level.

I will try to apply this cutting off strategy - not only to save time but also to save some mental energy. This sounds very reasonable. Until now I just attacked every question, which I thought I know to answer. Hopefully my friend will be happier in the end :)

Will keep you posted!

Thanks and Warm Regards

Levent

[StaceyKoprince]

That can happen, yes - it's not a universal. It really depends on so many factors - that's why it's an algorithm and not just a scoring key. :)

Good luck - let me know how it goes!