Starting on April 16, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), will be a half hour shorter following streamlining of the Quantitative and Verbal sections including cutting down on the number of questions and removal of some of the tutorial screens at the start of the computer-based exam.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the organisers of GMAT test, the scores of which are taken into consideration by Management Institutes across the world for admission to MBA and other programs, stated in a press release that the exam content and the time per question would not change. The scoring pattern will also remain the same.
“We shortened the exam to provide a better test-taking experience. To give you the most realistic preparation experience, our official full-length practice exams will be updated no later than April 30 to reflect the pacing of the shorter test. We want you to be confident and fully prepared to do your best on test day,” GMAC said.
Exams scheduled after May 6, 2018, and requests received after April 11, 2018, will not be eligible for the reschedule fee waiver. If you do not qualify for the fee waiver, you may reschedule your GMAT exam online for the standard reschedule fee.
This change will be effective from April 16, 2018, at 12:01 am local time. All exams appointments scheduled for that date or later will include these changes at the test centre.
Thus, in effect, GMAT will become shortened by 30 minutes to a 3.5-hour exam, including the breaks and test instructions. There will be a 23-minute reduction in the exam sections, as well as additional time and content reduction across several non-exam screens at the test centre (e.g. Tutorial, Section Instructions).
The Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections of the GMAT exam will be shorter by 13 and 10 minutes, respectively. Quantitative Reasoning under the existing pattern had 37 questions to be completed in 75 minutes. Under the modified version, the number of questions gets reduced to 31 to be completed in 62 minutes.
Verbal Reasoning in the existing pattern has 41 questions to be attempted in 75 minutes. In the new pattern, the number of questions gets reduced to 36 to be completed in 65 minutes.
The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) and Integrated Reasoning (IR) sections of the exam, the optional break times, and the Score Preview time remain unchanged.
In addition, the information presented in the Tutorial Screens at the test centre will be available online via mba.com/tutorial for all candidates to access and review prior to their GMAT exam.
Candidates will be able to view the tutorial at their convenience and review it as many times as they want to further familiarize themselves with what to expect at the test centre.
GMAC said the changes were being made as part of its commitment to continuously improve the GMAT exam experience for all test-takers. “We are always looking for ways to help candidates build confidence and control, reduce anxiety and streamline the test centre experience in a way that continues to maintain the high quality and integrity of the GMAT exam,” it added.
“Based on ongoing operational reviews of our systems and technology changes, we identified an opportunity to shorten the GMAT exam without impacting the way it is scored. We also received feedback from test-takers that they felt rushed through the tutorial screens at the test centre prior to starting their exam, and so we reviewed and simplified much of the content on several non-exam screens and have made the tutorial available in advance,” GMAC said.
“By shortening the two longer sections of the GMAT, combined with the availability of the tutorial information online, we want to create a better and friendlier testing experience that enables all GMAT test-takers to do their personal best on the test day,” it added.
In the FAQ section on exam pattern change, GMAC also sought to quell doubts about the scoring getting affected by the shortened Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections. It said the number of scored questions in each section, the average time per question and the scoring algorithm will remain unchanged.
“The Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections are being shortened by only reducing the number of unscored items. Unscored questions (sometimes referred to as “research or pre-test questions”) are used by GMAC as part of the question development process before they become scored GMAT questions.
“A number of unscored questions will still remain in each section so that we can continue to research and pre-test our exam questions and ensure their quality before counting them as scored questions,” GMAC said.
For those candidates who want to reschedule their tests to take advantage of the new features, GMAC said the decision was left to the candidate.
“If you currently have a GMAT exam scheduled on or prior to May 6, 2018, and you would like to reschedule your GMAT exam as a result of this change, you can call GMAC Customer Service to reschedule your exam. Both the reschedule fee (depends on early or late reschedule) and phone fee ($10) will be waived if your request is received on or prior to April 11, 2018, and your exam is scheduled for on or prior to May 06, 2018. When you call, you must indicate that you are rescheduling as a result of the new shorter GMAT exam. The limit is one free reschedule per candidate.
“Exams scheduled after May 6, 2018, and requests received after April 11, 2018, will not be eligible for the reschedule fee waiver. If you do not qualify for the fee waiver, you may reschedule your GMAT exam online for the standard reschedule fee. Note that in all instances, GMAT exams cannot be cancelled or rescheduled within 24 hours of the appointment time,” it added.
To a question on modifying preparations or the test a result of this change, GMAC said there were no changes to the questions formats or the content tested on the GMAT. The number of questions and section time has been reduced proportionally, so the average time per question in each section has not changed. The scoring methodology will remain the same.
GMAT Official Practice Exams reflecting the shortened Quantitative and Verbal section lengths will be released no later than April 30, 2018. Additional details and FAQs for the same will be provided prior to the release, GMAC said.
About the impact of the changes in the Enhanced Score Report (ESR), it said a few minor updates will be made to the ESR in support of the shortened sections. “These will be cosmetic updates that include text changes where we have removed references to any specific number of questions in each section.
“These updates will be applied to any ESRs ordered after April 16, 2018, regardless of the GMAT appointment date. For example, if you order an ESR on April 18 for a GMAT exam that was taken on January 15, you will still receive the new ESR format. The overall content and information included in the ESR will be unchanged,” GMAC added.