Kaplan GMAT premier 2016 with 6 practice tests

GMAT PREMIER 2016 ® with Practice Tests BOOK + DVD + ONLINE + MOBILE SCORE HIGHER WITH 1,300+ Practice Questions 200 Question Quiz Bank 130+ of Video Tutorials • MASTER the test with expert strategies, realistic practice, and in-depth review • REINFORCE critical concepts with video tutorials • IMPROVE your performance with instant online analysis and feedback • PREP ON THE GO with mobile study resources HIGHER SCORE GUARANTEED* * Or your money back Conditions apply See inside for details GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council™ Kaplan materials not contain actual GMAT items and are neither endorsed by nor affiliated in any way with GMAC PREMIER GMAT 2016 ® GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product This publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered as of its publication date, with the understanding that knowledge and best practice constantly evolve The publisher is not engaged in rendering medical, legal, accounting, or other professional service If medical or legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought This publication is not intended for use in clinical practice or the delivery of medical care To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the Editors assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising out of or related to any use of the material contained in this book © 2015 by Kaplan, Inc Published by Kaplan Publishing, a division of Kaplan, Inc 395 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014 All rights reserved The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher Printed in the United States of America 10 ISBN: 978-1-62523-135-2 Kaplan Publishing print books are available at special quantity discounts to use for sales promotions, employee premiums, or educational purposes For more information or to purchase books, please call the Simon & Schuster special sales department at 866-506-1949 C o n te n t s How to Use This Book ix Part one: The GMAT Chapter 1: Introduction to the GMAT Gmat Format Gmat Scoring Gmat Attitude Gmat Checklist Chapter 2: Understanding the CAT 13 The Cat Explained 13 Are the First Questions More Important? 15 The Importance of Pacing 16 Other Cat Strategies 17 Part two: PreTest Chapter 3: GMAT Pretest 21 How to Take This Test 21 GMAT Pretest Answer Sheet 23 Chapter 4: Pretest Answers and Explanations 61 How to Review This Test 61 Answer Key 63 Pretest Scoring Tool 64 Quantitative Section Explanations 65 Verbal Section Explanations 83 iii Contents Part three: Verbal Section and Strategies Chapter 5: Verbal Section Overview 105 Composition of the Verbal Section 105 Pacing on the Verbal Section 106 How the Verbal Section Is Scored 108 Core Competencies on the Verbal Section 108 Introduction to Strategic Reading 113 Chapter 6: Critical Reasoning 117 Previewing Critical Reasoning 118 Question Format and Structure 119 The Basic Principles of Critical Reasoning 120 The Kaplan Method for Critical Reasoning 125 Critical Reasoning Question Types 128 Advanced Strategies: Three Special Cases 166 Critical Reasoning Quiz 180 Answers and Explanations 186 Gmat by the Numbers: Critical Reasoning 231 Chapter 7: Reading Comprehension 233 Previewing Reading Comprehension 234 Question Format and Structure 236 The Basic Principles of Reading Comprehension 236 The Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension 246 Reading Comprehension Question Types 254 Reading Comprehension Quiz 268 Answers and Explanations 284 Gmat by the Numbers: Reading Comprehension 335 Chapter 8: Sentence Correction 341 Previewing Sentence Correction 342 Question Format and Structure 343 The Kaplan Method for Sentence Correction 343 Commonly Tested Grammar on the Gmat 348 Answers and Explanations 400 Gmat by the Numbers: Sentence Correction 467 iv Contents Part four: Quantitative Section and Strategies Chapter 9: Quantitative Section Overview 471 Composition of the Quantitative Section 471 What the Quantitative Section Tests 472 Pacing on the Quantitative Section 473 How the Quantitative Section Is Scored 474 Core Competencies on the Quantitative Section 475 Chapter 10: Problem Solving 481 Previewing Problem Solving 482 Question Format and Structure 484 The Kaplan Method for Problem Solving 485 The Basic Principles of Problem Solving 489 Problem Solving Strategy 495 Answers and Explanations 523 Gmat by the Numbers: Problem Solving 547 Chapter 11: Data Sufficiency 549 Previewing Data Sufficiency 550 Question Format and Structure 551 The Kaplan Method for Data Sufficiency 552 The Basic Principles of Data Sufficiency 558 Data Sufficiency Strategy 568 Answers and Explanations 577 Gmat by the Numbers: Data Sufficiency 597 Chapter 12: Algebra on the gmat 599 Previewing Algebra on the Gmat 600 Translating Words into Expressions and Equations 602 Isolating a Variable 607 Quadratic Equations 614 Systems of Linear Equations 619 Special Cases in Systems of Linear Equations 623 Functions and Symbolism 625 Answers and Explanations 630 Gmat by the Numbers: Algebra 649 v Contents Chapter 13: Arithmetic on the GMAT 651 Previewing Arithmetic on the Gmat 652 Arithmetic Basics 654 Fractions and Decimals 655 Exponents 665 Radicals 669 Absolute Value 673 Inequalities 677 Answers and Explanations 682 Gmat by the Numbers: Arithmetic 699 Chapter 14: Number Properties on the GMAT 701 Previewing Number Properties on the Gmat 702 Integers and Non-Integers 703 Odds and Evens 707 Positives and Negatives 710 Factors and Multiples 715 Remainders and Primes 719 Sequences 724 Answers and Explanations 728 Gmat by the Numbers: Number Properties 747 Chapter 15: Proportions on the GMAT 749 Previewing Proportions on the Gmat 750 Applying Fractions to Proportions 753 Ratios 757 Percents with Specified Values 764 Mixtures 772 Answers and Explanations 776 Gmat by the Numbers: Proportions 791 Chapter 16: Statistics on the GMAT 793 Previewing Statistics on the Gmat 794 Median, Mode, Range, and Standard Deviation 796 Sequences of Integers 801 Combinations and Permutations 805 Probability 813 vi Contents Answers and Explanations 820 Gmat by the Numbers: Statistics 839 Chapter 17: Math Formulas on the GMAT 841 Previewing Math Formulas on the Gmat 842 Averages 844 Rates and Speed—Converting Rates 849 Rates and Speed—Multi-Part Journeys 854 Combined Rates and Combined Work 860 Interest Rates 866 Overlapping Sets 871 Answers and Explanations 880 Gmat by the Numbers: Math Formulas 913 Chapter 18: Geometry on the GMAT 915 Previewing Geometry on the Gmat 916 Lines and Angles 919 Triangles 926 Polygons 935 Circles 941 Multiple Figures 948 Solids 954 Coordinate Geometry 960 Answers and Explanations 966 Gmat by the Numbers: Geometry 999 Part five: Analytical Writing and Integrated Reasoning Sections Chapter 19: Analytical Writing Assessment 1003 Essay Format and Structure 1004 The Basic Principles of Analytical Writing 1004 How the Awa Is Scored 1007 The Kaplan Method for Analytical Writing 1009 Breakdown: Analysis of an Argument 1011 Gmat Style Checklist 1016 Practice Essays 1018 vii Contents Chapter 20: Integrated Reasoning 1025 Section Format and Structure 1025 The Integrated Reasoning Question Types 1027 Conclusion 1067 part six: Test Day and Business School Chapter 21: Take Control of Test Day 1071 Mental Conditioning 1071 Stress Management 1073 Stress Management Quiz 1075 The Week Before Test Day 1079 On Test Day 1079 Cancellation and Multiple Scores Policy 1081 Chapter 22: Business School Admissions Myths Destroyed (Before They Destroy You!) 1083 Myth #1: The Admissions Committee Wants a Specific Type 1084 Myth #2: My High Gmat Score Will Get Me in 1085 Myth #3: My Supervisor Graduated from HBS—He Knows 1085 Myth #4: If I Did Not Go to an Ivy, I’m Not Getting In 1086 Myth #5: If I Have a Gap in My History, I’m Not Getting In 1086 Myth #6: If I Have No Managerial Experience, I’m Not Getting In 1087 Myth #7: I Must Submit in Round 1088 Myth #8: Writing My Own Recommendation Puts Me in the Driver’s Seat 1089 Myth #9: HBS Is for Everyone 1089 Myth #10: If My Application Has a Typo, I’m Not Getting In 1090 part seven: Appendices Appendix A: How Much Can a GMAT Score Change? 1093 Appendix B: A Closer Look at GMAT Scoring 1097 viii How to Use This Book WELCOME TO KAPLAN’s GMAT PREMIER 2016 Congratulations on your decision to pursue an MBA or other graduate management degree, and thank you for choosing Kaplan for your GMAT preparation You’ve made the right choice in acquiring this book—you’re now armed with a comprehensive GMAT program that is the result of decades of researching the GMAT and teaching many thousands of students the skills they need to succeed You have what you need to score higher; the next step is to make the commitment to your study plan, which, according to the GMAT testmaker, averages about 100 hours of preparation for 600+ and 700+ scorers Let’s start by walking you through everything you need to know to take advantage of this book and your Online Center Your Book There are two main components to your GMAT Premier study package: your book and your Online Center This book contains: •• Detailed instruction covering the essential verbal, math, and writing concepts •• Time-tested and effective Kaplan Methods and strategies for every question type •• A pretest (Chapter 3) featuring full-length Quantitative and Verbal sections, designed to help you diagnose your strengths and weaknesses •• Over 350 practice questions, followed by detailed answer explanations ix Part Six: Test Day and Business School Chapter 22 but for individuals who display true promise for their future careers After all, an MBA program is designed to teach you management! Myth #7: I Must Submit in Round Many MBA admissions officers will tell candidates that if they can complete their applications in time to submit them in Round 1, then they should so Most programs will also tell applicants that they should try to avoid Round 3, because most of the places in the class will have been filled by then So, what does that say about Round 2? We have noticed a strange trend lately: Candidates have taken to calling mbaMission the day after a school’s Round application deadline and asking whether submitting an application in Round is worth the effort or whether the opportunity has passed at that point Unfortunately, when one is being compared against a group of unknown competitors, being concerned about every perceived difference or deficiency is only natural Some candidates grow concerned if they are a year older than the average at their target school, while others fret if they are a year younger Many applicants worry if their GMAT score is ten points below a school’s average And of course, some worry if they submit their application in Round However, the overall strength of your candidacy, which is a measure of many factors, is far more important than where you fit in relation to any single statistic—which includes whether you apply in Round or So, we too would encourage candidates to apply early, if they are ready and able to so, but we not believe they should give up on their MBA dreams for a year if applying in Round is just not practical You may be surprised to discover that while admissions committees encourage early applications, they also concede that the difference in selectivity between the first and the second rounds is very small To back up this statement, we offer a small selection of quotes from mbaMission’s exclusive interviews with admissions officers: People ask, generally, is it better to apply in the first round or the second round or third round? We definitely advise people to avoid the third round if possible, because space can become an issue by the time the third round rolls around But we view the first two rounds as roughly equivalent — Bruce DelMonico, admissions director, Yale School of Management [We] get about a third of our applications in Round 1, about 55 percent in Round 2, and the remainder in Round . .  We encourage people to submit their application when they feel that they offer their best possible applications . .  So, if you can get everything lined up and completed and you feel really good about it  .  then I would encourage you to apply in Round But if it takes you a bit longer, and you want to take the time to look at your application again and maybe have somebody else look at it, then Round is fine, too — Soojin Kwon Koh, admissions director, Michigan–Ross We look at statistics over the years—how many applications we got, how many we admitted, and how many we yielded—and we try to even it out so we’re not being too generous in one round at the expense of another round — Dawna Clarke, admissions director, Dartmouth–Tuck 1088 Part Six: Test Day and Business School Business School Admissions Myths Destroyed (Before They Destroy You!) Myth #8: Writing My Own Recommendation Puts Me in the Driver’s Seat You get the courage to ask your boss for a recommendation and he not only agrees to so, he goes even further and says, “Write it yourself and I will sign it.” Writing your own recommendation letter can seem like a blessing Suddenly, you have the power to oversee an aspect of the application process that was previously beyond your control So, your downside risk in these letters is mitigated, and your upside is infinite, right? Well, things not quite work that way Admissions committees are not seeking blustery rave reviews Instead, they are seeking recommendations that are detailed and personal, intimate, and sincere Can you really write about yourself with dispassionate sincerity? And even if you are a master of “dispassionate sincerity,” are you able to capture the subtleties that make you stand out? For example, let’s say that among the many important things you do, you also something thoughtful that you not even perceive to be significant—you always take new team members out to lunch Although you may regard “closing the big deal” as significant, others may appreciate and admire this small but influential act, which helps forge team unity Unfortunately, you may lack the objectivity necessary to ensure that this distinctive and impressive detail is included in your letter This is only one simple example, of course, but our point is that you probably will not know what is missing from your letter if you write it yourself So when you approach your supervisor for a recommendation, go in ready to push back a bit if he or she asks you to write the letter yourself Some may be busy or lazy, and others may think that they are doing you a favor by giving you control Be prepared to impress upon your recommender that you can’t help yourself but that he or she can After all, that is why you are approaching your boss in the first place! Myth #9: HBS Is for Everyone As strong a program as it offers, Harvard Business School simply is not the right fit for every single MBA candidate We are not writing this to bash HBS—in fact, you can even replace “HBS” in our myth with the name of any other business school, because no program is truly appropriate for every candidate—but we are hoping that you will use this statement as a trigger to critically appraise your target MBA programs and determine which schools are truly best for you Ask yourself the following questions to start: ·· Would I prefer to be in a larger program, or would I be overwhelmed by a larger program’s size? ·· Would I prefer to be in a smaller program, or would it feel claustrophobic? ·· Would I prefer to have a flexible curriculum with a consistent stream of new classmates and where I could make my own academic choices early on? ·· Would I prefer to have a comprehensive core curriculum set out for me so that I am, for a period of time, learning the same material as my classmates according to a predetermined course structure? ·· Am I best suited for programs that use the case method, the lecture method, or strong experiential components? (And I really understand what each entails, such as the teamwork and public speaking that are necessary for the case method?) ·· Do my target schools match my academic objectives? 1089 Part Six: Test Day and Business School Chapter 22 ·· Do my target firms recruit at my target schools? ·· Are alumni well placed in my target industry/post-MBA location? (Are alumni even important to my career?) ·· Do my target schools have facilities and an environment that appeals to me? Again, these questions are just a start—we could certainly pose many more Our point is that you will get far more than a brand from your MBA studies You will get an education and an alumni network, and you will spend two years of your life and thousands of dollars on your experience So skip the rankings, determine what is important to you in your selection process, and then your homework so you can pick the program that truly fits you and your needs Myth #10: If My Application Has a Typo, I’m Not Getting In You have worked painstakingly on your application You have checked and rechecked your work You finally press “submit” and then discover—to your horror!—that you are missing a comma and in one place inadvertently used “too” instead of “to.” The admissions committee is just going to throw your application out, right? Wrong There is a fine line between an isolated typo and pervasive sloppiness If you have typos and grammatical errors throughout your application, you will send a negative message about your sense of professionalism and your ability to represent yourself—and in turn your target school—in a positive way However, if you have just a minor mistake or two in your text, then you have an unfortunate situation, but not a devastating one And let us note that there is no magic number of acceptable errors; three small mistakes will not necessarily disqualify you, either Admissions committees understand that you are only human; if you are a strong candidate, the entirety of your professional, community, personal, and academic endeavors will outweigh these blips In short, don’t dwell on the mistakes Don’t send new essays Just accept your fallibility and move on So, there you have it—ten pervasive admissions myths destroyed Now the key is to avoid the noise that is out there and not fall prey to other such myths At mbaMission.com, we have an extensive blog with admissions tips, essay writing advice, admissions officer interviews, and much more In addition, every Kaplan GMAT Advantage course or tutoring student is welcome to a free copy of our book The Complete Start-to-Finish MBA Admissions Guide If you have further questions, we are always delighted to answer them via our free 30-minute consultation: Learn more at www.mbamission.com/consult.php 1090 Pa r t Se v e n Appendices Appe ndi x A How Much Can a GMAT Score Change? The following appendix is adapted from The GMAT Unlocked, a white paper from Kaplan’s Research Series For more information, or if you’re interested in any of our classroom or tutoring programs, please visit our website at KaplanGMAT.com Whether you are just starting your studies or whether you have already taken the GMAT and are looking to retest, there’s likely one question on your mind more than any other: How much can I improve my score? This is an important practical question If you have a baseline score that’s far from your target, you need to know whether you can reach your target and how much work it will take Or, you may have received a low score on the GMAT, and you’re wondering how much it might go up if you retook the test in a month with a better mindset and some further study under your belt While the exact answer to the question of score improvement is as unique as your particular talents and circumstances, there is some information that’s worth knowing There are actually two questions regarding how much a person’s GMAT score can change within a given period of time: How much scores vary? How much can scores be improved? Let’s discuss some important facts related to these two questions and examine what these facts mean for your preparation How Much Scores Vary Scores can vary widely, but they tend not to The testmakers present two statistics on the subject that tell slightly different stories.1 1 http://www.gmac.com/gmac/thegmat/gmatbasics/whyrelyongmatscores.htm 1093 Part Seven: Appendices Appendix A First is the “reliability” of the test The GMAC answers this question directly by saying that you are 92 percent likely to get the same score on the GMAT if you take the test and then retake it (without any study in between) That’s probably a lot more reliable than you expected The testmakers go on to make the following statement: The current standard error of measurement for the GMAT Total score is 29, which means the reported GMAT Total score is within 29 points above or below a score reflecting true performance—a repeat test taker with Total scores within 29 points of each other knows he or she has performed consistently So there is little reason to retake the GMAT in the hope of improving your score without substantial preparation in the interim The standard error of measurement also gives you some perspective on score improvement Any score improvement of 30 points or more constitutes a major accomplishment In other words, 30 points may or may not sound like a lot on the GMAT scoring scale to you—but it is a lot +30 points +20 points +10 points True performance plus or minus standard error “True performance” –10 points –20 points –30 points The Magic Number Is 30 When Evaluating Scores Against True Performance Having a “Bad Day” As GMAT teachers, we see applicants have a “bad day,” recognize it as such, and walk away with unrealistically high hopes about how much their score will go up after a simple retake on a “good day.” The figures above—the 92 percent reliability and the 29-point standard error—indicate that your score on a good day is likely to be the same as your score on a bad day Furthermore, if your score on a good day is any higher, it’s very, very unlikely to be more than 30 points higher, unless you have raised your skill level through preparation There is hope for score improvement (we at Kaplan have seen hardworking students make tremendous score gains), but it lies along a path paved with practice One exception to this rule is the off day caused by sickness or a traumatic life event If you have reason to believe that specific circumstances have caused you to underperform significantly, you should probably cancel your score on Test Day This scenario is why it is so important to go into Test Day knowing both your goal score and the minimum score you will accept without canceling (see the section on “Cancellation and Multiple Scores Policy” in Chapter 21 for more detail) Even if you 1094 Part Seven: Appendices How Much Can a GMAT Score Change? don’t cancel, you might wish to schedule another testing appointment in the near future to have a good shot at the exam Other disruptions that may affect your performance, such as a fire alarm going off or computer malfunctions during your test, can also be good reason to cancel your scores or retake the exam If the disruption is caused by an irregularity in testing conditions, you should report it to the test administrators immediately and follow up through the appropriate channels to make sure that the situation is remedied fairly The “Gamble Retake” Maybe you had a fine day at the test, but you got a 690 and you’re aiming for one of the top ten or so programs, where the average score is close to 720 You hear the standard error is 29 points, which is almost exactly the size of the increase you’d like So you wonder whether you should gamble on a retake—simply take the test again and hope to better Knowing that you can simply cancel your score if you the same or worse on the test provides a good measure of insurance against those risks However, when you are contemplating such an investment of money ($250 for test registration), time, and stress, it’s first worth considering logically what your actual chances are of improving your score without additional dedicated study in the interim Here’s a breakdown of the gamble retake Let’s consider three cases: Say your true score (at your current skill level) is 690 In this case, you are quite likely to get a 690, or close to it, on a gamble retake Moreover, you’re as likely to get a 660 on your gamble retake as a 720 Say your true score at your current skill level is a 720 This is the possibility you want to believe is the case In this case, your 690 score was somewhat lower than your true score—not necessarily because you had a bad day but perhaps due to statistical variation in scores In this case, on your gamble retake, you’re most likely to score at or near 720 Say your true score at your current skill level is a 660 This case is the mirror image of case #2 In this case, your 690 was indeed a fluke, but in your favor You’re likely to score at or near a 660 on your gamble retake, and you’re just as likely to score under 660 as above 660 There are other possibilities, of course—your true score at your current skill level could be 680 or 700 or something near this range It could even be as far away as 600 or 780—but such cases are very unlikely (and if you’d like to gamble on those odds, you may want to dedicate your B-school tuition to playing the lottery instead) But given the statistical reliability of the GMAT, the most likely case of all is #1 Cases #2 and #3 are less likely—and each of those is as likely as the other So even if you are only 30, 20, or 10 points shy of your goal, the gamble retake is not a particularly good gamble The risk posed by case #3 is entirely mitigated by the fact that if you underperform on your retake, you may simply cancel your score Nevertheless, a straight-up gamble retake will produce the same score more often than any other result—the most likely outcome is a simple waste of time and money In general, a retake is the right move only if you have a month or two beforehand to devote to serious study Improving Your Score Devoting your time and focus to regular study, on the other hand, is no gamble; it’s a proven way to gain familiarity with, and ultimately mastery over, the test Rather than guessing at your true skill 1095 Part Seven: Appendices Appendix A level as we discussed above, you can accurately assess your performance by looking at the range of scores after you’ve taken several Kaplan practice CATs While the exact score will likely vary from test to test, the scores taken together should reveal a consistent pattern of performance As you continue to practice, look for upward trends Keeping the standard error of measurement in mind, don’t focus too minutely on the individual scores but rather on the larger picture they reveal Use this book and your Online Center to move that range upward over time Keep working to improve your performance until you’re comfortable with the score range you are seeing consistently on your CATs With practice, you can feel confident that you will receive a score on Test Day that reflects your highest attainable level of ability 1096 A ppe ndi x B A Closer Look at GMAT Scoring The following appendix is adapted from The GMAT Unlocked, a white paper from Kaplan’s Research Series For more information, or if you’re interested in any of our classroom or tutoring programs, please visit our website at KaplanGMAT.com As you have seen throughout this book, every question has a difficulty level This fact is an important part of the adaptive algorithm through which getting questions correct is “rewarded” with harder questions There’s a little more to this story After all, in chapter of this book, you learned that on the computer-adaptive GMAT, the first question you see is an “average difficulty” question; that means approximately half the people get the question right and half the people get it wrong In a sense, for all the people who got the question right, it’s an easy question, and in that same sense, it’s a hard question for all the people who got it wrong The difficulty of the question can be described by this entire pattern of responses, rather than just the percentage who answered it correctly Every Question Has a Curve1 Let’s take a closer look at such a pattern for a 550-level question Imagine that a complete and representative population of GMAT test takers got to tango with this question and we tracked the results The pattern of who got the question right and wrong would look something like this: Probability of Answering Correctly 100% 0% 200 800 Test Taker Skill Level A Question Curve That Levels Around 550 This section is based primarily on spoken remarks delivered at the 2009 and 2011 GMAC Test Prep Summits 1097 Part Seven: Appendices Appendix B Notice what the axes represent in this graph This graph shows the percentage of people who got the question correct, ordering those percentages by the test takers’ ability—rather, their ability plus practice, since we know a great deal of practice goes into the test When you count how many people get the question right at all their different skill levels, you end up with a pretty smooth curve This curve makes a lot of sense when you examine the parts Over on the right, where the test takers are very good, they are almost certain to get the question correct Those individuals are destined for top-10 B-schools or to work as Kaplan faculty or both On the left, where the test takers are at the bottom of the pool, the odds of getting the question correct are almost zero Finally, in the middle, the curve flattens out The 540-, 550-, and 560-level test takers have about a 50 percent chance of getting the question right, and that’s why the curve flattens out at a height corresponding to the 50 percent probability level That part reflects what we’ve already said when discussing how the CAT works: A test taker who should ultimately score at the 550 level will get a question like this correct half of the time, on average Also, the fact that the curve is nicely symmetrical indicates that when you take the entire test-taking population together, about half will get it right and half will get it wrong Now take a look at this one It’s a different question, so it has a different curve Probability of Answering Correctly 100% 0% 200 800 Test Taker Skill Level A Question Curve That Levels Around 650 It’s a similar shape but stretched and shifted to the right It’s a harder question Everyone below the 650 skill level is below the 50 percent level and therefore has a greater chance of getting this question wrong than getting it right Also, if you look where the curve levels out for this one, you see that it’s still at a height of 50 percent but that portion is now hovering at about the 650 skill level Whereas for the first question, 550-level test takers had even odds of answering correctly, with this question, it’s the 650-level test takers who have the even odds This conversation is getting fairly technical (we at Kaplan tend to be more interested in the behindthe-scenes details of the GMAT than our valued readers may be), but let’s look at one more example, a trickier one 1098 Part Seven: Appendices A Closer Look at GMAT Scoring Probability of Answering Correctly 100% 0% 200 800 Test Taker Skill Level The Curve for a 750-Level Question This curve may appear deformed at first when compared to the previous question curves Like the other curves, it moves generally upward from left to right, but unlike the other ones, the left side seems stretched out Like the other curves, it has a flat part, but in this case the flat part stays close to percent along the y-axis for a long time before curving upward And that curve is way to the right According to the science of building test questions, you never really know what kind of curve a question is going to have when your mathematicians and wordsmiths devise it; you just have to write it and then collect the data to see what its curve is That’s true for the testmakers (this is the reason they include experimental questions on the GMAT), and it’s also true for us at Kaplan as we write and norm our practice tests to be the most accurate study tools for Test Day If you were the testmaker and you had a question on your hands with this curve, you’d find this question to be not as useful in some respects and especially useful in others First, consider the test takers at skill levels of 700 and below They all are basically doomed 700 level? 200 level? They all tend to get it wrong, so this question does not distinguish among them very efficiently The first question we looked at does a much better job of telling those categories apart, because basically all 200-level test takers who see that question get it wrong and basically all 700-levelers get it right Nevertheless, this question is very good at one thing: It can distinguish among 700-, 750-, and 800level scorers If you look at the 700-level portion of the axis, you can see that the curve is riding low, and test takers on that part of the curve are, most likely, going to answer this question incorrectly If your ability level is that of a 750-scorer, you have a good chance on this one But if you’re an 800-scorer, you’re likely getting this question right Telling the difference among these groups is what this question is perfect for: Once you’ve progressed within a section and demonstrated that you’re in the 700–800 range, the test will dish up questions with curves like this one to determine whether you belong at the top or the bottom of that range The whole point of the GMAT is that it’s meant to discern the applicants who will be able to handle the coursework at a given business school program and the ones who won’t It’s all about distinguishing among a competitive set of candidates in a fair and objective way Toward that goal, each question has a job to do, which is to help in the task of distinguishing among test takers’ ability levels, and each question does that job a little bit differently, based on the unique shape of its curve 1099 Part Seven: Appendices Appendix B Fair and Unfair Questions Apart from understanding better how the CAT algorithm chooses questions, you’ll also note the following practical takeaways from the discussion of question curves: ·· “Bad” questions How the testmakers determine whether a question is clearly written? It all comes back to the curve They collect information on each individual question and look at the curve for that question, and—as you’ve just seen—these curves give much more nuanced information than mere numbers or percentages can give Questions that have nonsensical curves are thrown out.2 ·· Fair and unfair questions This point is similar to the preceding takeaway—and it has to with the issue of whether questions might be culturally biased or gender biased An extremely important consideration in constructing the GMAT (so the testmakers tell us) is to make a test that is fair to people from diverse geographies and backgrounds To give an example: A Vice President of Research and Development at GMAC once narrated a story to members of our team about a Critical Reasoning question previously on the test that concerned “skim milk.” As it so happens, while the term “skim milk” is readily understood in the United States, it does not carry equal meaning in India Moreover, the kind of milk at stake in the question had nothing to with the argument, the argument’s conclusion, its critical assumptions, or anything substantially related to the question’s correct answer But seeing a foreign expression in the first few words of the question was distracting to some Indian test takers That distraction was one that test takers from the United States didn’t have to endure, and therefore—however slight the inequity—the question was ultimately deemed unfair The testmakers avoid many such inequities through diligence and common sense, but they can also spot and eradicate unfair questions using the curves we discussed above Just as they can collect the curve for a particular question, so can they collect the curve for that question for a particular group and conduct analysis called Differential Item Functioning (DIF) And if, for example, they see that Indians are getting the skim-milk question wrong more than they should be, across all of the different skill levels of the Indian test takers, then the testmakers have the opportunity to reexamine that question and uncover the point of cultural bias if human review hadn’t already picked it up For example, imagine a curve that looks like a parabola with negative concavity This curve has a high point and then slopes downward on both sides from that point, symmetrical on the left and right, like a ∩ shape It’s an odd shape for a curve, but it can happen The people whose skill level is at the parabola’s high point (say, 670) are the ones who get the question correct most often Then, we head to the left, and the percentage who get it right drops That part makes sense: People at lower skill levels don’t as well on the question The confusing part is when we head to the right of the topmost point Those people are higher in skill level, but they get the question right less often? There’s something wrong with the curve, because the most skilled test takers are getting the question wrong and being penalized In fact, questions with curves such as this are often phrased confusingly or inaccurately If a question is a good 670-level question but has a small error or grounds for misinterpretation that perceptive 700+ test takers are conditioned to notice, it may reward the 670-level test takers and falsely penalize the 700+ test takers Such a question can be deemed “unfair” on scientific grounds—based on its curve—and it never graduates from being an experimental question into the ranks of questions that count toward GMAT scores 1100 Part Seven: Appendices A Closer Look at GMAT Scoring Not All Questions Are Worth the Same Have you harbored a conviction all along that some GMAT questions are worth more than others? If so, you have been right, although perhaps not in exactly the way you thought We saw in the previous examination that each question has a different curve Each is unique in its ability to slice and dice test taker ability And so it makes sense that each question has a different opportunity to impact your score We saw a question above whose curve allowed it to distinguish 700-level scorers from 750- and 800-level scorers If you are a 750-level scorer, or aspire to be, that may be one of the most important questions you see on Test Day It will actually create a larger swing in your running score than the previous or following question will Meanwhile, if you are a 680 scorer working to break 700 at this point, that particular question is of little relevance to you: If you see it (and you will likely not), you can get it wrong, and doing so would not much to hurt your goal of scoring 700+ Let’s return to the first ten questions of a Quant or Verbal section, which we discussed briefly in chapter As you’ve already seen, your performance on this first series of questions helps the CAT determine your rough placement on the difficulty scale And you’ve also seen how questions appearing later in a section can be quite important as well, as they are the ones that are specifically targeted to evaluate your ability level compared to those test takers who will ultimately score slightly higher or lower than you The item curves help explain both points Many of the questions near the beginning of the exam will have curves designed to separate 600 from 400, then 650 from 600, 670 from 630, and so on As you progress through the test, the CAT tailors its questions to your ability level to learn more about you as a test taker But all of these questions have a slightly different impact on your score There are reasons to suspect that you might see questions later in a section that could make a big difference to your score And there is every possibility that questions that could cause larger swings are inserted by the testmakers later on intentionally, as the algorithm seeks to verify its estimate of your ability in different ways In the light of these considerations, this statement from GMAC makes more sense: “The questions in an adaptive test are weighted according to their difficulty and other statistical properties, not according to their position in the test.”3 The curves are key, not a question’s placement per se On Test Day, you have only one choice: Give every question your best effort Give easy-looking questions a quick look for unseen pitfalls Be open to guessing on harder-looking questions so that you can maximize the time you have available to answer all the questions you are capable of answering correctly Take a balanced approach to time management Don’t be too quick to assume any question is one you’ll definitely get right or definitely get wrong And know that it’s hard to fool a CAT Its question selection and scoring algorithms are sophisticated, so your best defense is a good offense: practicing to improve your performance on questions across the range of difficulty levels http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-structure-and-overview/format-and-timing.aspx 1101 ... Percentile Score Percentile Score 97% 51? ?60 99% 45–51 88% 50 98% 44 79% 49 96% 42 74% 48 94% 41 68 % 47 91% 40 66 % 46 89% 39 63 % 45 85% 38 58% 44 83% 37 56% 43 81% 36 Some Percentiles vs Scaled Scores... schools accept students with an average GMAT score of 720, the 94th percentile Percentile Score 99% 760 –800 94% 720 89% 700 77% 65 0 67 % 62 0 48% 560 Some GMAT Percentiles vs Total Scores The total... One The GMAT Ch a p t e r Introduction to the GMAT ·· GMAT Format ·· GMAT Scoring ·· GMAT Attitude ·· GMAT Checklist Let’s start with the basics The GMAT is, among other things, an endurance test