Radical Changes to the GMAT: A New Direction

GMAC, maker of the GMAT, took the exam in a surprising new direction in 2024 with “the GMAT Focus Edition.” As a GMAT prep company, Austin GMAT Review adjusted to the exam’s sudden swerve, and for those of you who are not quite sure about the changes, we have pulled together the information that you need for a winning run.

Three Sections, One Total Score. And the Test Is Shorter.

The new GMAT exam is two hours and 15 minutes long, with three 45-minute sections instead of four sections. Yes, an easy-to-remember, easy-to-time, evenly spaced 45 minutes per section, correcting the irregular timing (65, 62, 30, and 30 minutes for various sections) introduced the last time that GMAC shortened the exam.

The three exam sections are now Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Data Insights. You can choose the order of the sections. The three sections combine for a new Total Score that scales from 205 to 805. Previously, only the Quantitative and Verbal scores were combined into the Total Score, and the highest score possible was 800. The new section, Data Insights, is an outgrowth of the current Integrated Reasoning section, which used to be scored separately.

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👉 Check out Our Graduates and Their Business Schools' Average GMAT Scores (Both Legacy and Newer Focus Editions)

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The Essay Is Gone (A Change that was Long Overdue)!

At long last, the Analytical Writing Assessment section is no more. The AWA is used by only a minority of school admissions teams to evaluate MBA candidates for admissions decisions. For years, I have recommended that our students focus on other and better options to prove their writing skills, and this course correction is most welcome.

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Sentence Correction Is Gone.

GMAT Sentence Correction problems required you to use core writing and grammar rules to evaluate a sentence’s meaning and arrive at the correct answer. What remains in the GMAT Verbal Reading section are Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning question types. Generally speaking, these questions ask you to prove that you understand information in written passages and the soundness/faultiness of reasoning behind written arguments.

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Geometry Formulas Are Gone.

General areas of geometry knowledge (like area, perimeter, and figure properties) are still tested, and geometry may be used in problem-solving questions (with the formulas provided), but you will not need to memorize geometry formulas. Coordinate geometry, also known as analytic geometry or Cartesian geometry, does remain.

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Data Sufficiency Remains. Integrated Reasoning Remains.

… but has been moved. Data Sufficiency questions, which are unique to the GMAT, require you to determine which data is relevant to solving a problem, and whether there is enough data to find the solution. A new Data Insights section combines Integrated Reasoning and Data Sufficiency question types, for the purpose of measuring your ability to analyze and interpret data.

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You Can Change Your Answer (Up to Three Questions per Section).

This first-time feature is definitely a step in the right direction. Previously, you would not have the opportunity to change any answer as you raced through the exam, raising the stakes considerably. Still, only allowing three answers to be changed per section is a halfway measure, considering that the GMAT’s competitor, the GRE exam, allows you to change any and all answers per section.

What we are still figuring out: How the new feature has been reconciled with the adaptive nature of the exam. When you answer a question, the GMAT exam presents you with the next question based in part on whether you got the answer right or wrong. Broadly speaking, a correct answer could produce a slightly harder next question; a wrong answer could produce a question that is slightly easier. Your final score is derived from the number and difficulty of the questions that you answered correctly.

With the new exam, you might answer questions incorrectly and get lower value questions as a result, then change your answers.

• Does it matter whether you correct your answers quickly, putting you back on track to receive higher value questions?
• If you go back to correct your answers after you’ve completed all the questions, will the score boost be weaker?
• Does the location of the questions (section beginning versus end) impact the score?

With the GMAT Focus in place for more than a year, I am still assessing the results of the change, which may possibly have made the final score more random. I hope that the GMAC offers transparency into its scoring strategy.

No Need to Purchase the ESR: It Will Be Included As Standard.

Speaking of transparency, the Enhanced Score Report will be automatically be included with your Official Score Report. The ESR presents data on your performance per question type, the percentage of correct answers per section, average difficulty per question, and your time management. Having the ESR will be handy if you find that you need to make another run at the exam.

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GMAC fully transitioned to the new exam formant In 2024, leaving the MBA admissions committees to switch horses mid-stream. Past GMAT test-takers who are taking another run at exam have found the transition a bit rough. As always, if you need coaching on the new version of the exam, we are here to help you successfully cross the finish line.