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If GMAT scoring is a total mystery to you, you’re not alone. Students frequently ask me: “How is the GMAT scored?” or “Should I adjust my test-taking strategies with the GMAT scoring algorithm in mind?”
In this article, I’ll answer the most common questions about GMAT scoring and the GMAT computer algorithm, explain why percentile rankings matter, and give you some key strategies for using the GMAT scoring system to your advantage.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- What is the GMAT?
- The GMAT Is Computer Adaptive
- GMAT Percentiles Explained
- GMAT Scoring Explained: The Total Score
- Other Factors Affecting Your GMAT Score
- GMAT Score Trends Over Time
- Avoiding Common Score-Killers
- Key Takeaways
- What’s Next?
First, let’s review what the GMAT is and what it means that the GMAT exam is “computer adaptive.”
What Is the GMAT?
The GMAT is a standardized, computer-adaptive exam designed and administered by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and required for admission to most business schools. The GMAT tests skills necessary for success in the business world, skills such as critical thinking, logical reasoning, data analysis, and basic math and verbal knowledge. Business schools use GMAT scores as key indicators of how applicants may perform in their MBA or EMBA programs, and employers sometimes look at GMAT section scores as indicators of whether job candidates have the skills necessary for performing in certain positions.
An integral part of the GMAT scoring system is the exam’s computer-adaptive nature. So, in order to understand how the GMAT is scored, you must understand how GMAT computer adaptivity works. Let’s take a look.
The GMAT Is Computer Adaptive
The GMAT comprises three sections: the Quantitative Reasoning section with 21 questions, the Verbal Reasoning section with 23 questions, and the Data Insights section with 20 questions.
All three sections of the GMAT are computer-adaptive. What this means is that the “test driver” that presents the test questions to you selects the difficulty level of the next question you see on the basis of your response to the previous question. In other words, the difficulty of the questions you see increases or decreases depending on whether you answer questions correctly or incorrectly.
So, we can see that the GMAT is computer-adaptive at the question level. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what that means.
The GMAT Is Computer-Adaptive at the Question Level
We’ve just seen that the GMAT uses your responses as a basis for choosing which questions you see on a question-by-question basis.
Specifically, there are easy, medium, and hard questions, and each section first presents you with a medium-level question. If you answer that first question correctly, the second question in the given section is a bit more difficult. However, if you answer the first question incorrectly, the second question is a bit easier. As you answer more questions in the section correctly or incorrectly, the difficulty level of succeeding questions increases or decreases,
Importantly, the exact difficulty of the first question in your second and third sections can vary slightly. According to GMAC, your performance on each section has a minor effect on the first question of the following sections. For example, if you perform well on your first section, your second section will start with a slightly higher-difficulty question. If you also perform well on your second section, your third section will also start with a somewhat more difficult question.
So, why does the GMAT function in this way, and how does question-level adaptivity affect your GMAT score? Well, in order to accurately assess your quantitative, verbal, and analytical abilities — and provide a score that accurately reflects those abilities — the GMAT is designed and scored using a framework called Item Response Theory (IRT). Let’s talk about that next.
KEY FACT:
Your performance on each section has a slight effect on the difficulty of the first question you see on the following sections.
Item Response Theory
Item Response Theory is a method of analyzing responses to test questions that takes into account not only how many questions are answered correctly or incorrectly, but also the difficulty level of the questions.
To see how IRT works, let’s consider a scenario featuring Test-Taker A and Test-Taker B.
Both test-takers correctly answer 18 of the 23 questions in the Verbal section of the GMAT. So, they each get about 78 percent of the Verbal questions correct and 22 percent (5 questions) incorrect. However, all 5 of the questions that Test-Taker A answered incorrectly were hard questions, while the 5 questions that Test-Taker B answered incorrectly were medium-level. Furthermore, Test-Taker A saw mostly a mix of medium and hard questions and only a handful of easy questions in the section, whereas Test-Taker B saw mostly a mix of easy and medium questions and only a handful of hard questions.
Consequently, even though both test-takers got the same number of questions correct in the section, Test-Taker A would earn a higher Verbal score than Test-Taker B did. The difficulty level of the questions Test-Taker A answered correctly was higher. In other words, although in terms of raw numbers their test performance was the same, their level of verbal proficiency is not calculated by the computer as the same.
KEY FACT:
In order to formulate your score, the GMAT uses Item Response Theory (IRT), which takes into account not only how many questions are answered correctly or incorrectly but also what the difficulty level of those questions is.
Does the Question Review and Edit Option Affect Scoring?
The question review and edit option allows you to review questions and change up to three answers in each section. You may use this option only if you have time remaining at the end of the section.
After you finish the final question in a section, the review and edit screen will appear. All question numbers will appear, and you’ll also see a bookmark icon for any questions that you earlier flagged for review. You may revisit any question in the section, and you may change the answer for up to three questions.
You might wonder, “Well, this is great! But if I am allowed to change answers after the fact, how does the GMAT still effectively use question-adaptivity?” The answer is pretty straightforward, actually. Because you are allowed to change only a max of three answers, the bulk of your answers remain the same, and the scoring algorithm has built this limited question-changing option into its analysis of your performance. Thus, you have a bit of leeway with having been given a second chance for answering some questions, and the GMAT still gets to use question adaptivity in assessing your performance. For most students, it’s a win/win.
KEY FACT:
You may change up to three answers in a section by using the question review and edit option.
Now that we know how computer adaptivity works on the GMAT and how it affects your score, let’s review the GMAT scoring scale and take a look at what the percentile rankings associated with GMAT scores mean.
GMAT Percentiles Explained
Your GMAT score is actually 4 different scores: an individual score for each of the 3 GMAT sections, and your total score, which equally factors in your performance in those three sections.
Let’s take a look at the GMAT score ranges for each of the GMAT scores a test-taker receives:
- Total score: 205 to 805, in 10-point increments
- Quant score: 60 to 90, in 1-point increments
- Verbal score: 60 to 90, in 1-point increments
- Data Insights score: 60 to 90, in 1-point increments
Now, as you may already know, every GMAT score is associated with a percentile ranking. So, when you receive your GMAT section scores and your total score, you will receive a percentile ranking for each.
Your percentile rankings tell you how your scores stack up against the scores of your peers. For instance, say you score 655 on your GMAT. According to GMAT percentile rankings, a total score of 655 puts you in the 91st percentile. Scoring in the 91st percentile means that you scored higher than 91 percent of all test-takers.
Likewise, a score of 80 on the Quantitative section of the GMAT, for example, puts you in the 64th percentile for Quant, meaning that you scored better than 64 percent of all test-takers on the Quant section.
It’s important to note that, although the Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights sections are scored using the same score range of 60 to 90, the percentile rankings associated with those scores are not the same. For instance, that same score of 80 on the Data Insights section would put you in the 84th percentile for Data Insights, rather than the 64th. And the same score of 80 on the Verbal section would put you in the 57th percentile. The reason for these differences is that, unlike your numerical scores, your percentile rankings are formulated on the basis of how other test-takers have performed.
KEY FACT:
Your percentile rankings tell you how your scores compare with those of all GMAT test-takers.
Now that we know what the GMAT percentiles mean, let’s take a look at the current percentile rankings for GMAT total scores and Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights scores. These rankings are based on the scoring data of the 596,155 test-takers who took the GMAT during the period from January 2019 through December 2024. They are adjusted for the new scoring criteria implemented in November 2023.
GMAT Total Score Percentiles
GMAT Quantitative Reasoning Percentiles
GMAT Verbal Reasoning Percentiles
GMAT Data Insights Percentiles
Percentile rankings are important because they put you in direct competition with your peers. For instance, a score of 655 currently puts you in the 91st percentile, meaning that you scored higher than 91 percent of all test-takers. Now, if in the future, more test-takers score 655 than in the past, a score of 655 may no longer put you in the 91st percentile.
Perhaps your ranking will be a percentage point or two lower. Conversely, if fewer people achieve a 655 score, your percentile ranking could increase by a point or two. Your total score will remain the same, but depending on how your peers perform, that score may appear somewhat more or less impressive. Let’s explore this concept a bit further.
Your total score will remain the same, but depending on how your peers perform, that score may appear somewhat more or less impressive. Let’s explore this concept a bit further.
GMAT Scoring Explained: The Total Score
Contrary to common belief, GMAT total scores are not curved, and the calculation of total scores is not affected by aggregate test-taker performance. In fact, GMAT scoring is meant to remain constant over time, so that GMAT scores can be compared. In other words, a particular GMAT score in 2028 and the same GMAT score today should represent a consistent level of performance.
So, if you achieve a certain level of performance, you will get a certain score, regardless of how other test-takers have been performing during the year when you take your test. In that respect, your total score is different from the percentile ranking associated with that score.
KEY FACT:
The calculation of your GMAT total score is not affected by aggregate test-taker performance.
One common misconception is that your GMAT total score is calculated using your Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights section scores. Rather, the GMAT scoring algorithm uses your performance in each section to calculate your total score. This distinction is important because section scores represent a range of test-taker performance. In other words, two test-takers who earn the same section score may have performed slightly differently.
For example, our research shows that a test-taker could earn a Quant score of 84 by correctly answering either 17 or 18 of the 21 Quant questions. Similarly, specific Verbal and Data Insights section scores can be earned with different numbers of correct answers. The takeaway? Similar (but not identical) section performances can yield the same section score.
KEY FACT:
The same section score can be earned with slightly different levels of performance.
And since those performances are used to calculate the GMAT total score, it is possible for two test-takers with the same section scores to earn different total scores. Let’s discuss.
How Can the Same Section Scores Lead to Different Total Scores?
Let’s consider a scenario (derived from our score research) in which two test-takers earn the same section scores with different numbers of correct answers.
- Person A earns section scores of Q84/V85/DI84 by answering 18, 20, and 17 questions correctly, respectively. She correctly answers 55 of the 64 total GMAT questions.
- Person B earns section scores of Q84/V85/DI84 by answering 17, 15, and 14 questions correctly, respectively. He correctly answers 46 of the 64 total GMAT questions.
According to the TTP GMAT Score Calculator, a section score combination of Q84/V85/DI84 is likely to result in a 695 total score. However, because Person A performed better in each section, she might earn a higher total score than Person B does. Perhaps Person A earns a 695, while Person B earns a 685.
KEY FACT:
Your performance on the 64 total GMAT questions, not your section scores, determines your total score.
Next, let’s discuss the additional factors that can affect your GMAT score.
Other Factors Affecting Your GMAT Score
We’ve already discussed the two primary factors that affect your GMAT total score: the number of questions you answer correctly in the Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights sections, and the difficulty of those questions. However, there are some other factors that play a part in how your GMAT score is calculated.
Number of Answered Questions
Ensuring proper pacing throughout the GMAT is an essential part of earning a top score, but it sometimes happens that test-takers, for whatever reason, start to run out of time at the end of a section. So, they want to have a strategy in the event that the clock is ticking and they have to either guess an answer or leave a question blank. Which option is better for your score?
According to GMAC, each unanswered question will significantly decrease your section score, so make sure to submit an answer to every question. When time is running out, making an educated guess on a question is always your best option. In fact, any guess, educated or not, is better than leaving a question blank.
In a perfect world, you would carefully pace yourself throughout each section of the GMAT, so that you have sufficient time to work systematically on the final questions in a section. But we all know that the world isn’t perfect. So, if you have more questions left than there is time to answer them, do your best to make educated guesses.
TTP PRO TIP:
If you have more questions left than time to answer them, do your best to make educated guesses.
Note that if you’ve selected an answer to the last question in a section but don’t hit submit before the clock runs out, your answer WILL NOT be recorded. With that in mind, if you’re short on time when you reach the last question in a section, select an answer first, and then try to find the correct answer. Just make sure to submit the answer before time runs out.
TTP PRO TIP:
Make sure to submit, not just select, your answer to the final question in a section.
Number of Correct Answers in a Row
Obviously, your goal in taking the GMAT is to get as many questions correct as possible. So, it makes sense that a long streak of correct answers could drive your score significantly higher. The reason long streaks of correct answers tend to drive your score higher is that getting correct answers in long streaks drives up the difficulty of the questions you see. Of course, as we have discussed, correct answers to more difficult questions are worth more when your score is calculated.
So, during your GMAT practice, shoot for long correct-answer streaks. By practicing getting as many correct answers as you can in a row, you’ll be positioning yourself to score high on the GMAT.
Furthermore, if you keep the importance of “streak length” in mind, you’ll be motivating yourself to consistently find correct answers to questions that you know how to answer. A question missed because of a careless error will go from being merely unfortunate to being the question that broke your streak. Thus, you won’t “kick a question to the curb” the minute something doesn’t make sense. Although you can’t spend 5 minutes trying to decipher every question, giving yourself an extra 15 seconds to think about the challenging component or step of a problem could make the difference between a correct answer and an incorrect guess.
Remember, the longer your streaks of correct answers on the GMAT, the greater potential you have to score high in a GMAT section.
TTP PRO TIP:
To drive up your score, practice increasing your “streak length” — getting as many correct answers as you can in a row.
Next, let’s examine how GMAT scores have changed in recent years.
GMAT Score Trends Over Time
While we don’t yet have data for the new version of the GMAT launched in November 2023, we can look at legacy GMAT scoring trends for an idea about what to expect.
According to a 2018 report by GMAC, in the 5-year period from 2013 to 2017, not only did the number of people taking the GMAT increase, but also the scores of people taking the GMAT increased.
Specifically, from 2013 to 2017, the number of GMAT test-takers globally who earned a total score of 600 to 690 increased by nearly 5%, while the number of GMAT test-takers globally who earned a total score of 700 or higher increased by nearly 7%.
Given what we know about how GMAT percentile rankings are calculated, we can infer from this data that the percentile ranking for, say, a 700 score, decreased somewhat over that 5-year period. In other words, the competition has been getting steeper, so if you’re targeting top MBA programs, it’s more important than ever that you earn a top GMAT score!
KEY FACT:
From 2013 to 2017, both the number of people taking the GMAT and the scores of people taking the GMAT increased.
So, in addition to the strategies we’ve already discussed, what can you do to ensure that you don’t fall victim to the quirks and preferences of the GMAT computer? Let’s discuss.
Avoiding Common Score-Killers
There are a few very common, score-eroding mistakes that GMAT test-takers tend to make time and time again. Some of these tendencies are just human nature, while others are the result of faulty information and myths that students hear through the “GMAT grapevine.” Knowing what these common score-killers are, and doing your best to avoid them, will help you ensure that the GMAT computer doesn’t get the better of you. Luckily, these pitfalls are relatively easy to sidestep.
Score-Killer #1: Guessing How You’re Performing
Many test-takers feel the urge to try to gauge how they’re doing as they’re working through a section. However, this is a game you won’t likely win. Never try to guess how you’re performing on a GMAT section. You may get a question that feels easy in the middle of your exam; that does not mean you are doing poorly. You may feel as if you bombed your first section, but you have no real way of knowing.
Worse yet, if you get down on yourself because you assume you messed up on the first section, you may negatively affect how you perform on your second and third sections. Students have told me many times that they thought they did poorly on the GMAT but in fact did really well.
You have no way of accurately interpreting the behavior of the GMAT computer or measuring what the GMAT considers an easier or more difficult question. So, wasting energy trying to gauge how you’re performing is counterproductive. Worrying about your performance never improves your performance. So, do not waste your brainpower on guessing how you’re performing. Instead, focus only on finding a correct answer to the question at hand.
TTP PRO TIP:
You have no way of knowing how you performed on the GMAT until you get your score, so don’t waste your brainpower trying to guess how you’re doing on a section.
Score-Killer #2: Spending Extra Time on the First 7 Questions
There are many myths out there about the GMAT, and this is one of the most prevalent. Despite what you may have heard or read, however, you should not spend extra time on the first 7 questions of the Quant or Verbal section.
There are many reasons why overinvesting time in the first 7 questions of a section is a poor strategy. Chief among them is the fact that you most likely will not be left with enough time to answer all of the questions at the end of the section, and thus your initial gains will be lost.
Furthermore, if you answer all 7 of the first questions correctly, you should start seeing some pretty difficult questions. However, where will all of your time to answer those tough, high-value questions have gone? By using the lion’s share of your time on the first third of the section, you will have squandered much of your opportunity to send your score skyrocketing later in the section. Don’t make this mistake.
TTP PRO TIP:
Don’t believe the myth that spending extra time on the first 7 questions of a section will guarantee you a high score. Instead, pace yourself methodically throughout the exam.
Score-Killer #3: Sacrificing Questions to Catch Up on Time
As we’ve already discussed, you have no way of accurately assessing whether the GMAT considers a question easy, hard, or something in between. A question that seems fairly straightforward to you may be difficult for many other test-takers. That reality makes blindly “sacrificing” questions in an effort to catch up on time a very risky strategy. After all, randomly guessing on an easy question — or multiple easy questions — can really hurt your score.
Unfortunately, this idea that you should jettison random questions if you find yourself behind on the clock is common in GMAT circles. For example, let’s say you’re on question 15 of the Quant section and you have 10 minutes remaining. The idea is that you’d sacrifice question 15 (and maybe question 16) to catch up on time. However, it isn’t prudent to throw away questions that you may be able to quickly answer. Furthermore, if you have the misfortune of throwing away an easy or medium question that the test expects you to get right, your score will be penalized heavily.
TTP PRO TIP:
Since you have no way of accurately assessing whether the GMAT considers a question easy, medium, or hard, blindly throwing away questions in order to catch up on time is a mistake.
Key Takeaways
In this article, we’ve reviewed several important points about how the GMAT is scored.
- The GMAT is computer-adaptive at the question level: your answers to questions affect the difficulty of subsequent questions.
- Because of differences in question difficulty, test-takers with the same number of correct answers can earn different section scores.
- On the GMAT, you receive 4 scores: section scores for Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights, and a total score. Each score has its own percentile ranking.
- Section scores range from 60 to 90, and the total score ranges from 205 to 805.
- Your scores will not change over time, but your percentile rankings might.
- Your GMAT total score is calculated from your section performances, not your section scores.
- Because section scores reflect ranges of performance, the same section score combination can lead to different total scores.
- Leaving questions unanswered in a section will significantly harm your section score.
- Streaks of correct answers drive up your score by increasing the difficulty of the questions you see.
- In recent years, legacy GMAT scores have trended upward, and the corresponding percentile rankings have trended downward. This may continue on the new GMAT.
- Trying to guess how you’re performing on the GMAT can harm your score.
- Investing extra time on the first 7 questions of a section will not help you increase your section score.
- Blindly sacrificing questions to catch up on time can really hurt your score if you happen to guess on questions the GMAT expects you to answer correctly.
What’s Next?
Now that you know how the GMAT is scored, check out this article to learn what business schools consider a good GMAT score, including top business schools.
For more simple, effective tips for boosting your GMAT score, this article on the most common causes of a score drop can help.
