GMAT Test Changes
Recently, GMAC announced that GMAT test takers will be able to get a GMAT Superscore. This means if you take or took the new GMAT, more than once, then you will get your single-sitting test scores and a Superscore that uses your best results from each individual GMAT section.
For example, if your best Quant score is from your first GMAT and your best Verbal and DI scores are from your second GMAT, any score reports you send to schools will automatically include a Superscore using your best Quant, Verbal, and DI scores across all sittings to calculate a new Total score.
Your score report will also show the full set of scores from the single GMAT sitting that you choose. Basically, you’ll still do what you do today, (select your best GMAT sitting to send to a school), and then the report will also include your GMAT Superscore, at no extra charge.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- GMAT Superscore Details
- Latest GMAT Changes Summary
- Why the GMAT changed
- GMAT Scoring Updates
- GMAT Format Changes
- GMAT Problem Changes
- How To Prepare for the New GMAT
When Will the GMAT Superscore Take Effect?
GMAT Superscores will officially launch in August (exact date TBD) and they will be retroactive to all sittings of the new GMAT (formerly known as the GMAT Focus). So if you have already taken the new GMAT two or more times, after the launch date, you will see a Superscore in your account and any score reports you send after that date will include your Superscore.
What Will the GMAT Superscore Report Look Like?
You will still order your GMAT Score reports exactly the same way that you do now: by selecting a single test administration as your best sitting. That single-sitting score will be reported to the schools, and after the August launch date, the score report will also include your Superscore (if you have one).
Some business schools will prefer the GMAT Superscore (some b-schools already calculate this themselves) and some will prefer your best single sitting. Ask the admissions office at your target business programs whether they use your best single sitting or your Superscore.
What’s New in the GMAT Exam?
When GMAC launched the latest version of the GMAT (previously known as the GMAT Focus) there were major changes and updates to the exam. Those changes included:
- changing the testing durations for each section ( Quant + Verbal + Data Insights) to 45 minutes
- changing the scaled Total score range from 200 – 800 to 205 – 805
- renamingIntegrated Reasoning to Data Insights
- removing the Essay section
- removing all grammar
- removing most geometry
- removing sentence correction problems
- weighing data analysis skills more heavily in your score
Why the GMAT Changed
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has been the flagship global business school entrance exam for more than 50 years. GMAC, the test makers, have specifically designed the new GMAT Focus Edition to target the current-generation skills that are most relevant to success in graduate management programs.
GMAT Score Changes
On the new GMAT, all three sections (Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights) factor into your new GMAT score on a scale of 205 to 805 in 10-point increments now. Before, only the Quantitative and Verbal sections were factored into your Total score.
Another major update to how the new GMAT scoring works on the GMAT is the algorithms give data analysis skills more weight into your core.
You will also now receive individual scores for each GMAT section (Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights). These GMAT section scores are 60 to 90 in 1-point increments.
[ RELATED: How to Register for the GMAT]
Summary of GMAT Format Changes
Some of the most notable GMAT new format changes were renaming the Integrated Reasoning section to Data Insights and removing the Essay portion of the exam. GMAC has also found a way to allow test takers to change up to 3 answers per section, basically reinventing question-adaptive testing.
You will still need to choose an answer to each problem as you go. Then, at the end of the section, you’ll be able to review any problems you want and change up to 3 answers. (You’ll also have access to a bookmark feature throughout, so that you can quickly find again the problems that you want to review.)
The skills needed to do well on the new GMAT were also changed a bit with more emphasis added on data analysis skills.
The GMAT (formerly known as the GMAT Focus) is 2 hours and 15 minutes long which consists of an optional 10 minute break. You will have 45 minutes to complete each section (Quant, Verbal, Data Insights).
The format of the GMAT and the skills tested are:
| GMAT Focus Test Section | Time | # of problems | The section tests… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quant | 45 min | 21 | – Fractions, percents, and ratios – Algebra – Statistics – Story problems – Number properties |
| Verbal | 45 min | 23 | – Critical / analytical thinking – Comprehension – Inference |
| Data Insights | 45 min | 20 | – All quant skills – All verbal skills – Data analysis – Logical reasoning |
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GMAT Problem Type Changes
Some of the most notable problem type changes that occurred on the new GMAT were the removal of most Geometry problems and all Grammar, and Sentence Correction problems.
While geometry was removed, coordinate plane geometry is actually considered algebra—so coordinate plane can still appear on the new GMAT.
Data sufficiency (DS) problems are also no longer part of the Quantitative section and were moved to the Data Insights section. In addition, Data Sufficiency problems will no longer be given in “pure” math form.
Some DS problems will still test math concepts but only in “applied” (ie, story / translation) form—and some of them may even include graphs to interpret. In addition, DS problems will expand to include more logic-type problems.
Below are the latest problem types that you will encounter on the new GMAT.
| Quantitative Problem Types | – Problem Solving |
| Verbal Problem Types | – Critical Reasoning – Reading Comprehension |
| Data Insights Problem Types | – Data Sufficiency – Tables – Graphs – Multi-Source Reasoning – Two-Parts |
[ RELATED: How to Study for the GMAT]
How To Prepare for the New GMAT
Our new GMAT courses have launched and our fully updated for the GMAT Focus, as well as our GMAT Focus Self-Study Toolkit to help you prepare for the new GMAT.
