GMAT

GMAT Basics:
The Graduate Management Admissions Test is the standardized exam used by graduate business schools for admissions decisions. It is designed and produced by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and administered through the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC). The three-hour, computer-adaptive test is almost exclusively multiple-choice and yields four scores: Total, Verbal, Quantitative and Analytic Writing Assessment.
What the GMAT Measures:
GMAC claims the GMAT can measure basic analytical, quantitative and reasoning abilities developed over time. However, according to the GMAC web site, the GMAT does not measure: “every discipline-related skill necessary for academic work, nor does it measure subjective factors important to academic and career success, such as motivation, creativity, and interpersonal skills.” It continues, “GMAT scores cannot be used to estimate potential for success in a career, because many factors other than basic verbal and mathematical abilities influence work performance.”

Test Administration:
The GMAT switched to a computer adaptive testing (CAT) format in 1997. Since that time, multiple problems with cheating, computer system failure, and scoring errors have been identified. In 2000 ETS admitted that scores for 3% of all tests taken between February and March were miscalculated, but students were not notified until December. Common pencil-and-paper test-taking strategies cannot be used on computer delivered exams. Test-takers are unable to underline text, scratch out eliminated choices or work out math problems on screen. Studies also indicate that computer screens take longer to read than printed materials, and that it is more difficult to detect errors on computer screens. Taking the GMAT costs applicants $200 each but colleges pay nothing to receive scores. Since 1985, GMAT has increased fees by $170 per test but offers no financial assistance for test takers of limited financial means
.
GMAT Grading and Scoring:
The Verbal and Quantitative sections are each scored on a scale of 0-60. A Total score is calculated by adding Verbal and Quantitative scores then converting this number to a 200-800 point scale. The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) is scored on a 1-6 scale. This section, in which students have an opportunity to display creative, innovative and concise writing skills, is graded by two “evaluators,” one of which is a computer.
.
Predictive Validity and Margin of Error:
GMAC has been able to validate the GMAT for just one purpose: predicting first-year graduate school grades. But GMAC concedes that the GMAT can predict less than 17% of the variation in these grades on average. Independent researchers put the percentage much lower at between 4% and 9%, meaning that over 90% of what determines how well a student will do in their first year in business school is not captured by the test. According to GMAC’s own studies, all graduate schools have access to a better predictor of success - - undergraduate GPA’s.