The GMAT exam turns 60

The first standardized exam specifically for graduate study of business in the US—the precursor to the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®) exam— was administered on February 6, 1954, to 1,291 potential graduate business students at more than 100 sites, predominately in the US and Canada but also in London, Paris, and New Delhi.

More than 9 million exams later, the Graduate Management Admission Council delivers a quarter-million GMAT exams year-round at approximately 600 test centers in 113 countries. The test is today the most widely accepted and preferred for admissions to the world’s leading business schools, used by more than 6,000 management programs in 83 countries around the world.

“The GMAT has evolved from a paper-and-pencil test delivered a few times a year to a computer adaptive test available year-round, all over the world,” says Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC, the global council of business schools. “Alongside management programs that have become more complex, global enterprises, the GMAT exam has evolved to measure the skills needed for success, and to help match students from around the world with the schools and programs in which they can thrive and grow their careers and their lives. The GMAT exam isn’t just a test you take – it’s the test that takes you places.”

The GMAT traces its roots back to the early 1950s, when US business schools, faced with greater demand for graduate business degrees, sought a test to add fairness and consistency to the admission process. Representatives from nine business schools —Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, Rutgers, Seton Hall, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis—developed the Admission Test for Graduate Study of Business

Although all nine business schools were from the US, they understood the need for an international exam both as a means of attracting international students and for promoting graduate management education on a global stage.

Today’s GMAT exam assesses test-takers’ reasoning skills and their ability to utilize and interpret data to solve problems. Across six decades, the GMAT exam has achieved numerous milestones, including:

• The introduction of the Integrated Reasoning section, which measures the ability to use data presented from multiple sources and in different formats to solve problems (2012).

• The transition from paper and pencil to computer adaptive format (1997).

• The introduction of the Analytical Writing Assessment (1994), making the GMAT the first standardized test to use computer scoring of essays.

• The introduction of Data Sufficiency questions, which ask the test taker how much data are needed to solve a problem rather than to actually solve it (1961).

The complete list of key milestones the exam’s 60-year history:

1953: Officials from nine business schools —Columbia, Harvard, Northwestern, Rutgers, Seton Hall, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis—meet with the Educational Testing Service to develop a standardized test for admission to graduate business school.

1954: A total of 1,291 potential business students take the first Admission Test for Graduate Study of Business on February 6, sending scores to 54 different business schools. Two more sittings are held in May and August, bringing the total number of test takers up to almost 3,000 for the first year.

1957: The first major validity study shows the ATGSB is a valid predictor of first year business school grades.

1959: Carnegie and Ford Foundation reports criticize business schools for lacking intellectual rigor; the Ford Foundation reports encourages more schools to use the ATGSB and raise their admission standards.

1961: Data Sufficiency questions, which ask test takers how much data are needed to answer a question rather than to actually solve the question, are added to the exam.

1970: The Graduate Business Admissions Council is incorporated.

1976: The GBAC changes its name to the Graduate Management Admission Council and changes the name of the test to the Graduate Management Admission Test. Analogy and Antonym questions, dropped in 1961 and added back in 1966, are dropped for good.

1982: Usage questions, introduced in 1976, are changed to the current Sentence Correction format.

1994: The Analytical Writing Assessment, consisting of two 30-minute essays, is added. Most other sections are shortened.

1997: The GMAT exam moves from paper-and pencil to computer adaptive format. The new format is more secure, and it also allows the test to be administered year-round at test centers around the world rather than at scheduled test administrations four times a year.

2006: GMAC changes testing partners, from the Educational Testing Service to ACT and Pearson VUE. The test itself does not change, but administration is administered at Pearson VUE test centers allowing for better accessibility worldwide.

2012: Integrated Reasoning section, with four new question types measuring the ability to use data from multiple sources and in different formats, makes its debut. One 30-minute AWA essay is dropped to keep the testing time to 3 hours, 30 minutes.

2014: The GMAT exam is delivered at 600 test centers in 112 countries and accepted at more than 6,000 graduate management programs around the world.