Executive Assessment: Exam Format, Syllabus & Preparation Tips

Is the sea of information on the Executive Assessment Exam baffling you? Are you confused where to start? Let’s put an end to your nightmare today!

In this article, you will find comprehensive advice on the Executive Assessment exam.

Executive Assessment (EA), also known as mini-GMAT, is created by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council),the same body that manages GMAT. In fact, both the exams evaluate the same skills in a candidate. However, the format, syllabus, and preparation methods of an Executive Assessment exam differ from a regular GMAT.

Why do B-Schools require an Executive Assessment score?

An EA exam is specifically designed for working professionals to showcase their readiness for entering an EMBA. An applicant’s skill level, years of experience, professional attitude and the proficiency all play an important role when attending an EMBA, but it’s not enough.

Attending an EMBA is also an academic challenge.Given the long gap most participants have had from the classroom, the challenge is perhaps bigger than that for recent graduates who are heading for a regular MBA after a couple of years of work-ex. The EA scores play an important role and help B-Schools assess how prepared a candidate is for the rigor of an EMBA and analyze skill gaps in the candidates’ profile.

Also Read – In A Complex Business Scenario, What’s The Role Of The MBA?

Let’s get you up to speed about the format& syllabus, along with some preparation tips to ensure you are on the right track.

Executive Assessment Exam Format and Pattern

An EMBA offers flexibility to candidates – they can pursue the course while continuing with their employment. The EA exam takes a similar approach to testing.

As opposed to GMAT, it takes less time to prepare for the EA, the test duration is shorter and the syllabus is relatively easier to master. You will typically need a month of preparation for the Executive Assessment (EA) and the test duration is a breezy 1.5 hours.

Further, you can cancel and re-schedule the EA without incurring any additional cost as long you do so before 48 hours from the appointment. Fitting it in with a busy executive lifestyle is therefore easy.

Executive Assessment Scores

The exam comprises three scores from three separate sections, and each uses a scoring scale of 0 to 20. The total scores in the EA exam range from 100 to 200. The scores are available immediately after the test and you will receive the official score report within 24 hours.

Score cancellations are, however, not allowed. That means if you are unsure of your score, don’t send them out to B-Schools at the end of the test. GMAC doesn’t charge anything additional for reporting scores to more B-Schools later.

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Executive Assessment Fee

The pricing of the EA, much like the audience it’s meant for,is business class!

Priced at $350, the costis on the higher side than a regular GMAT to cover the cost of rescheduling without any additional fee and the facility to send scores to schools without any additional cost.

Executive Assessment Syllabus and Sample Questions

The Executive Assessment is a 90-minute exam consisting of 3 sections –

• a) Integrated Reasoning
• b) Verbal Reasoning, and
• c) Quantitative Reasoning.

You will have 30 minutes to answer each of these sections.

Integrated Reasoning- 12 Questions in 30 minutes 

This section has 12 questions that need to be answered in 30 minutes on the interpretation and evaluation of information plotted in charts, graphs, etc. You require data interpretation and analysis skills to ace this section.

The question types can vary between multiple-choice, pull-down menu answer choices, and True/False. You will be provided a calculator to answer this section. Some of the types of questions you can expect:

– Graphics interpretation: Information will be presented as a graph or a graphical image from which you will have to draw conclusions.

– Two-part analysis: This type of question will require the analysis of two different aspects of an argument to come up with the answer.

– Multi-source reasoning: Different data sets will be presented. You will have to solve a particular problem using information from these different sources and respond to multiple-choice or yes/no questions.

– Table analysis: Information will be presented as a table. You will have to find your answers by analysis the contents of the table and respond to true/false type questions.

Verbal Reasoning- 14 Questions in 30 minutes

The questions from this section are designed to analyze your critical reasoning, reading comprehension, and understanding of English as a language.

This section hasa total of 14 MCQ-type questions covering the following question types:

– Reading comprehension: Acuteambition isn’t nearly sufficient by itself – the ability to translate vaulted visions into concrete action and the grit to face trials and tribulations that present themselves in the pursuit of eminence is the hallmark of a true blue test taker.

No, you haven’t just opened Shashi Tharoor’s book of nursery rhymes!

The passage you read is a hint at what you can expect in the reading comprehension section of the EA exam – expect it to be confusing and complicated like what you just read.

Questions will ask you for your takeaways from what you just read.

– Critical reasoning: A short passage will be given. You will have to understand,analyze and reasonthe argument presented and share your response to the questions posed.

– Sentence correction: Grammar Nazis love this section. You will be presented incorrect sentences and you will have to choose the best way to correct it among multiple options.

Quantitative Reasoning – 14 Questions in 30 minutes

It measures one’s ability to analyze a given data and derive practical conclusions by using algebra and arithmetic. Therefore, high-school level Mathematics is required. Note that you will not be provided a calculator in this test.

The 14 MCQ-type questions covered in this section are –

• Data Sufficiency: You are not required to calculate the answer. You simply need to check whether the given data is sufficient to solve the problem.
• Problem Solving: You need to do some mathematical calculations to choose the correct answer from the MCQ options.

GMAT vs Executive Assessment

Executive Assessment and GMAT largely differ from each other, though they do have some similarities. Preparation time and exam duration are aspects where the EA scores over GMAT. Candidates with senior designations can find the EA more convenient as they can fit the exam between a hectic professional & personal life.

It takes only a month to prepare for an EA exam, so if you can dedicate an average of 1.5 hours per day, acing the exam shouldn’t be a tough bet.

Check out for the differences between an Executive Assessment and GMAT:

• Structure and Duration Per Module: For Executive Assessment -a) Integrated Reasoning (12 Questions in 30 minutes), b) Verbal Reasoning (14 Questions in 30 minutes), and c) Quantitative Reasoning (14 Questions in 30 minutes). 

For GMAT – a) Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) (30-minute essay), b) Integrated Reasoning (12Questions in 30minutes), c) Quantitative Reasoning (31Questions in 62minutes), and d) Verbal Reasoning (36Questions in 65minutes). 

• Total Time: The EA takes 90 minutes to complete whereas the GMAT runs a marathon 5 hours.

• Exam Fee: The EA exam fee is higher than GMAT – $350 for the former and $250 for the latter.

• Score Reports: The score reports of the EA exam are available immediately, and the official scores are declared within 24 hours of taking the test.

For GMAT, only four out of five scores are available immediately – AWA scores come in later. The official score report, including AWA scores, are available within three weeks of appearing for the exam.

• Exam Cancellation: You can cancel an EA exam up to 24 hours before the test and receive a refund of $250 ($100 is non-refundable). Whereas for GMAT, you need to cancel the exam more than seven days prior to the assessment to get a refund of $80. However, if you cancel a GMAT exam within the seven days period before the appointment, you will get no refund.

• Exam Rescheduling: You can reschedule an EA test more than 48 hours prior to the appointment without any additional charges. However, if you reschedule it within 24-48 hours before the test, an additional charge of $75 is required.

In GMAT, you can reschedule more than seven days before the appointment for $60, and if done within seven days of the appointment, you need to pay an additional $250.

• Score Cancellation: You cannot cancel an EA exam score. However, you can cancel a GMAT score for an additional charge of $25. Also, you can reinstate the cancelled score for another $50.

• Number of Attempts: You can attempt an EA exam twice and reapply after 24 hours of the first attempt. But for GMAT, you can reattempt up to 5 times every year, once in every 16 days.

Preparation Tips for Executive Assessment Exam

The EA preparation time is much shorter than a GMAT. The EA assesses and evaluates a candidate’s understanding and knowledge regarding tools that most professional use day in and out such as data analysis, interpretation, reasoning, and communication.

You don’t need to follow any extensive preparation guidelines separately for each of those skills. However, to improve your scores and to acquire the required proficiency or familiarity with these business tools, GMAC recommends practicing regularly to learn about the format.

To get started, you can practice from sample question sets available on GMAC’s official website. Alternatively, you can purchase more advanced and detailed questions from numerous Official Preparatory materials.

Some tips to have the best preparation for an Executive Assessment Exam are –

• Follow study materials designed particularly for EA. The EA preparation materials are different from other business management tests. If you follow other materials or sample questions, you might end up studying out-of-syllabus topics. you may also miss out practical aspects like the professional applicability of various business tools.

• Complete your EA practice tests using a timer. Set your timer to the total hours of the test paper you are practicing, that is 30 minutes.

Moreover, practicing with a timer on gives an idea of how a real exam situation would be.

You will gradually realize your mistakes and start working on them to attain perfection.

• Set aside enough study time during the week. Do it even if you have a busy work schedule. Regular practice is the key to success! Typically, the EA exam requires a total preparation time of around 21-30 hours.

Don’t skip your preparation or practice, even for a single day. Things will get easier if you keep in touch with the topics. Make a study plan and divide the hours you will dedicate each day. In this COVID-19 situation, you can request a work-from-home opportunity. It will ease your study time and increase flexibility in your preparation.

Also, read all questions well. Candidates often avoid reading them thoroughly due to time constraints. It leads to making further errors in answers. Develop this question-reading habit from practice sessions to get habituated.

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List of B-Schools Accepting Executive Assessment Scores

Many B-schools today are realising the importance of a simple and shorter assessment that analyses whether senior executives are equipped to handle the rigors of business education.

As of October 2020, there are around 100 B-schools globally accepting EA scores. Find below a list of the popular ones, along with their corresponding programs.

Conclusion

If you think you can manage both your work pressure as well as your studies back home, you will definitely crack the code! Be confident and above all, have patience. Be consistent with your studies and practice daily. Things will come to your grasp if you prepare every day, which will further enhance your skills and reduce your stress.

Your scores are crucial to getting admission to one of the B-schools, hence allowing you to pursue an EMBA program. An EMBA degree will help you to improve your professional management skills and thus, give you a salary hike, promotion, and an increase in roles and responsibilities.

Also read:

• Executive MBA Guide: Placements & Salaries
• Executive MBA Guide: Top Programs
• Executive MBA Guide: EMBA Ranking
• Executive MBA Guide: Syllabus
• Executive MBA Guide: Admissions
• Executive MBA Guide: Fee and Scholarships
• Executive MBA Guide: ROI
• Executive MBA Guide: MBA for Working Professionals
• Executive MBA Guide: MBA vs. Executive MBA