GMAT Scoring

Since the next generation GMAT is less than a month away, this article focuses on how the GMAT will be scored starting in June 2012. The biggest scoring change you need to know about is the points scale for the integrated reasoning section.

Integrated Reasoning Score

According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, the integrated reasoning section will be scored in single digit intervals on a scale from 1 to 8. The addition of the integrated reasoning section will not affect your other GMAT scores.

Like the analytical writing section, the integrated reasoning section is scored separately and is not included in the total score. While your integrated reasoning score will not be included on the Unofficial Score Report provided immediately after the GMAT, you will receive it within 20 days as part of the Official GMAT Score Report.

In addition to your integrated reasoning score, the Official GMAT Score Report will also include your integrated reasoning percentile. The integrated reasoning percentile is based on the proportion of scores below your score and tells you how you did in comparison to other GMAT takers. This information does not change your integrated reasoning score.

While your score will not change, your percentile will change as more people take the test. The percentile change will be reflected on your electronic score report and on any additional GMAT reports you order, as well as the GMAT score reporting website used by business schools. In 2012, the percentile for  integrated reasoning scores will be updated once a month. By 2013, however, the percentiles will be updated at the same rate as that for the other sections of the GMAT. GMAT percentiles are usually based on three years worth of GMAT scoring data.

GMAT Analytical Writing Score

While the GMAT Analytical Writing Section has been cut in half to one 30-minute essay, the scoring will stay the same. That is, the analytical writing section will have it's own score separate from the total GMAT score.

The analytical writing section is scored in half point intervals on a scale from 1 to 6. Your essay is given two ratings, and may include one score that comes from an automated essay-scoring engine. The automatic essay-scoring engine evaluates over 50 structural and linguistic aspects of your essay including: how you organize ideas, the way you mix different types of sentences, and how you analyze a topic. If the two ratings for your essay vary by more than one point, it will be evaluated by an expert reader in order to determine the final score.

Similar your integrated reasoning score, your analytical writing score is included in the Unofficial Scoring Report you get right after you take GMAT. It is, however, included in the Official Scoring report that you get within 20 days of taking your GMAT. This report will be delivered to you through email or regular mail.

GMAT Total Score

Verbal and Quantitative Sections

Your total GMAT score is based on your performance on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GMAT. Total GMAT scores range between 200 and 800 points. Most GMAT takers (66%) end up with a GMAT score between 400 and 600 points, according to data from the Graduate Management Admission Council.

The scoring scale is the same for both the verbal and quantitative sections of the GMAT. Scores range between 0 and 60. It is highly unlikely that you will get a verbal score that's below nine or above 44 or a quantitative score that's below seven or above 50.

Even if you don't complete the entire GMAT, you will still receive scores if you provided answers for every section. Unanswered questions can hurt your score, however, since your scores are calculated based on how many questions you answered.