How to Use GMAT® Scores

Why Use GMAT® Scores?

There are two main reasons:

The GMAT® exam is a reliable and valid measure of verbal and quantitative skills found to be important in the graduate business study. In repeated research studies, GMAT scores have been found to be an accurate predictor of academic success in the first year of an MBA or other graduate management program.
Unlike grade point averages (GPA)—which vary in meaning according to the grading standards of each school—GMAT scores are based on the same standard for all test takers; applicants' GMAT scores can be directly compared to each other.

Appropriate Uses of GMAT Scores

GMAT scores should be used for the following purposes:

Selection of applicants for graduate study in management
Selection of applicants for financial aid on the basis of academic potential
Counseling and guidance

Inappropriate Uses of GMAT Scores

GMAT® scores should not be used for the following purposes:

As a requisite for awarding a degree
As an achievement test

Guidelines for Using GMAT Scores

Use Multiple Criteria
The GMAT exam is only one factor in the admissions decision, and it does not measure every discipline-related skill necessary for academic work, nor does it measure subjective factors important to academic and career success, such as motivation, creativity, and interpersonal skills.

Find out How GMAT Scores Work for Your Program
Our free Validity Study Service (VSS) is designed to help schools demonstrate empirically the relationship between test scores and performance in a specific academic program.

Avoid the Use of Cutoff Scores
Cutoff scores should only be used when clear empirical evidence shows that a large proportion of students with score in that range were less successful in the curriculum. Schools must also demonstrate that use of cutoff scores does not result in discrimination based on sex, age, ethnicity, or any other characteristic not proven to indicate their competence or predict their success.

Do Not Compare GMAT Scores with Scores on Other Tests
The GMAT exam has not been equated with other tests. GMAT score scales may seem similar to those of other standardized tests, but comparisons with scores from other tests [such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE®)] are not appropriate. Likewise, GMAT scores cannot be estimated from scores on other tests. In addition to the differences between the tests, the populations taking the tests have different characteristics.

Use GMAT Scoring Guides to Interpret AWA Scores
The article Understanding and Using the Analytical Writing Assessment Scores provides more guidance for using AWA scores.

Score Comparison

Scores by themselves have no significance; they take on meaning only when compared against a standard or norm. Using the "percentage below" numbers, you can relate the performance of one test taker to those of all test takers in the last three years. It may be more useful, however, to know how a test taker compares with others applying to your school.

Direct Score Comparison
We recommend caution in directly comparing the scores of two applicants. The standard error of difference for the Total GMAT score is about 41, so chances are about two out of three that the difference between the Total GMAT scores received by two test takers is within 41 points above or below the difference between the test takers' true scores. The standard error of difference for the Verbal score is 3.9, and for the Quantitative score, it is 4.3.

Educationally Disadvantaged Test Takers
We advise that you use special care in interpreting test scores when the test taker is believed to be educationally disadvantaged as a result of social and environmental circumstances. Scores may, under those circumstances, reflect the extent of educational damage resulting from unequal opportunity, rather than potential to succeed academically in the first year of a graduate management program. However, GMAT scores should still be considered as part of the applicant's overall application.

Test Takers with Limited English Proficiency
In assessing the ability of a test taker whose native language is not English, it is important to carefully consider how much the scores may have been affected by a limited proficiency with English. GMAT scores, especially the Verbal and AWA scores, may reflect the test taker's deficiency in English rather than his or her reasoning ability.