On standardised testing, when given a percentile ranking, do they really base that ranking on people who take the test, or is it based on the expectation of how the general public would do if given the test?
Why do I ask? I took the GMAT a short while back and it got me thinking. The only people likely to take the test are those that have graduated college and are now looking towards graduate school. I can’t buy that people that have graduated college, and are able to get thier shoes on and get to the test center, could score anything below 50th percentile. I can accept that some people may not do well on this test, but not someone who has managed to get through school.
Anyone have solid info on if the rankings really are based on the expected test takers like they say, or is it based on the general public, or do the numbers get pulled from various body openings?
Don’t have specifics on the GMAT, but the percentile ranks on a standardized test are generally based on a population that has actually taken the test. It’s very easy to imagine college graduates who can get their shoes on and get to the test center scoring below the 50th percentile- the bottom half of the scores, no matter how high they might be in absolute terms, are in the 50th percentile or below.
There are published numbers for average GPAs and GMAT scores of new students admitted to schools, which can be used as a relative difficulty of getting in. Several schools I saw showed avg GMAT scores at or below the national average.
Also, the difficulty of the test has little to do with the rankings people get. If everyone scores 90% or better on an absolute scale, those who score 90% will be in the bottom 1 percentile and those who score 100% will be in the top 99 percentile.
What was your score (if you don’t mind me asking).
My reason for the question is that I got a 730 and I’m kind’a dumb, have lots of trouble with my left shoe in the morning, and haven’t taken a test of any kind since 1993.
I could buy my 97th percentile score only if it was based on the general population, not on college graduates. But let’s not tell the graduate schools I said this, at least not until I get accepted.
One thing that may explain your score could be in the distributions of the subscores. I got a slightly higher score than you, landing in the 98th percentile. Under mathematics, I landed in the 63rd%ile, in the verbal, the 99th%ile.
Somehow a 63rd and a 99th put me in the 98th overall. I’m sure the verbal pushed the overall score up a lot.