Havanna Travel

In my two decades of experience as an educator, I have worked
with hundreds of prospective business school applicants during
their preparation for the Graduate Management Admission Test
(GMAT). Recently, I used my extensive experience in this arena
to help design the
GMAT Exam Simulator software distributed by Upstart Raising
to GMAT Preparation providers and tutors worldwide. Since we
began offering this educators’ software direct to students
through the CAT Prep.com
website, I have received many inquiries from MBA candidates
interested in the finer points of how we successfully emulate
GMAT scoring within our software. In the next few paragraphs, I
will attempt to shed some light on this subject.

The actual calculations for raw, scaled sectional, and
cumulative scores are not published by Educational Testing
Service (ETS), the current publisher of the actual GMAT exam,
and the goal of the GMAT is to produce scores that are
consistent year to year. In other words, a 650 from several
years ago is supposed to be equivalent to a 650 today. To meet
that goal, the scaled sectional scores continually fluctuate
with regard to the associated percentile. For example, average
quantitative scores have been rising for several years and it
now takes a scaled score of 51 to reach the 99th percentile
while a 48 now represents only the 87th percentile. By
comparison, in the verbal section, there is a 7 point difference
between the 99th (a score of around 45) and the 87th percentile
(around 38).

Since these types of scoring adjustments are not announced
publicly, the only reliable way to monitor these scoring
fluctuations is to use observations of actual test scores. So
clearly software algorithms must be continually monitored and
adjusted to provide accurate scoring assessment. At Upstart
Raising we devote the large majority of our effort towards the
reliable reproduction of the total cumulative score with regard
to test taker performance. We continually adjust our formula for
cumulative score generation along with question pool content to
reflect the observations and feedback of actual test takers. In
stark contrast, many inferior GMAT preparation software products
use static formulas and question pools that bear no resemblance
to the current exam.

It is important to note that there is no simple relationship
between the number of questions answered correctly during a
single GMAT session and the associated cumulative score. Each
question in each section of the GMAT is assigned a unique weight
and earlier questions in the section are worth more than later
questions while quantitative questions are generally worth more
than verbal ones. Students should be aware that the cumulative
score on the GMAT is calculated in increments of 10 points. So,
the difference between a 690 and a 700 is only one “tick”. This
difference could be attributable to a difference in the number
of correct responses, but that is not necessarily the case. 10
points is so narrow a margin in the cumulative GMAT score that
the order of your incorrect responses could be the determining
factor in whether you receive a 690 or 700.

For example, if you miss 3 verbal questions towards the end of
the section during one GMAT session, but miss the same 3
questions in the middle during another session, your second
session could easily be scored 10 points lower. This is one
reason why we coach students to give more attention to the
earlier questions on each section. Quite simply, the earlier
questions are worth more.

I hope this information helps resolve some of the questions
pertaining to the mysterious GMAT scoring algorithms. If you
have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate
to contact us.
If you haven’t already, we suggest you read our instructions on
how to ”
Verify Your Preparation Level” using our simulator. The
instructions are available on our
main GMAT Exam Simulator webpage.

-Cindy Anderson CATPrep.com a>

Remember struggling through math class? Remember learning fractions? For most people it was not a happy experience. For new teachers, facing a room of young faces, teaching math can be intimidating. The first step is to set aside any emotional reactions based on your experiences, and approach it fresh, with an open mind.

Perhaps more than other subjects there are a huge number or misconceptions about teaching math and hopefully this article will dispel ‘myths about math.’ Lets look at a few:

1. Math ability is inherited. Perhaps this comes from our “genius parents produce genius children” myth, which has absolutely no basis. Confidence is very important for math just like anything else. Most students that apply themselves, are reasonable confident and with average intelligence do well in math.

2. You don’t need to study for math. Somehow math is different! Really! Wouldn’t that be nice! Unfortuneatly, here in the real world, math is just like any other subject and requires study and practice.

3. Boys are better mathematicians than girls. This is pure gender-based stereotyping, which has no basis.

4. If you don’t know how to solve a problem after you read it, you probably can’t solve it. Solving math problems is just like solving any type of problem. It is a process where different approachs must be tried and intuition and creativity play a part. When you learn how to swim, you start at the shallow end of the pool.

5. Logic is needed for math and intuition is not needed. Intuition is one of the most important aspect of problem solving. Everyone has intuition, we just haven’t learned to use or trust it.

6. Logic is needed for math not creativity. It requires imagination, intellect, intuition, and aesthetic about the rightness of things.

7. There is one right way to get the right answer. Math problems can be solved in a variety of ways. There is no best way.

8. Counting on your fingers is bad. Counting on fingers shows an understanding of arithmetic, rather than memorized.

Learning math is more important than ever in today’s technologically advancing world. Technology requires that we solve more difficult and complex problems all the time. Thinking clearly about math yourself is the first step in teaching children to also thinking clearly about math.