The Next Generation GMAT was launched on 5th June, 2012 and the New Integrated Reasoning section was tested for the first time. The section had 12 questions to be attempted in 30 minutes. The Integrated Reasoning section was not Computer adaptive and like the AWA score, the score in the I.R. section does not contribute to the final GMAT score.

About 6229 candidates appeared for the Next Generation GMAT and analysis of the test results reveal the following:

1) The I.R. score is given on a range from 0 to 8 and the Average I.R. score among the students who have taken the test after 5th June 2012 was 4.

2) The average I.R. score was expected to be higher than 4.

3) The average I.R. score reported was slightly lower than the mid-point score range.

4) 26% of the test-takers scored a 1 or a 2 out of a total score of 8.

5) Only 30% of the test-takers scored a 6 or above out of a total score of 8.

Previously it was thought that many students would get 6 out of 8 on the I.R. section but now we feel that students have found it difficult to get more than 6 in this section. In the AWA section, it is desirable to get atleast 5 on 6. (The AWA section score is on a scale from 0 to 6).

It must be noted that all the sub-questions within a question must be answered correctly. If a mistake is made even in one sub-question in the I.R. section, then the entire question is marked as incorrect. In times to come, it is hoped that students start doing well in this section and a strong I.R. score is also hoped to correlate to a balanced quant score and verbal score. This is because, in the I.R. section, both verbal and quant scores are tested simultaneously.

 

Source of the above table: http://www.gmac.com/why-gmac/gmac-news/gmnews/2012/july-2012/initial-integrated-reasoning-percentiles-released.aspx

As more and more students appear for the Next Generation GMAT, the I.R. percentiles will change. The initial score distribution in the I.R. section shows a good spread of scores.

The GMAT percentiles are updated every year and the I.R. percentiles will be updated monthly till December 2012. After that, both the GMAT percentiles and the I.R. percentiles will be updated annually. Updated percentiles will be made available on www.gmac.com and www.mba.comand B-Schools are advised to peruse these scores.

GMAT scores are valid for 5 years. The Admission panels at all B-schools will be admitting candidates based on their GMAT scores. Many students would have appeared for the earlier GMAT Pattern and will not have an I.R. score. For the candidates without an IR score, the admission directors will look at other parts of the admission file, including previous coursework and work experience, for indicators of how well a candidate could integrate data to solve problems. The I.R. score will give B-Schools a standardized measure of these important schools and will be taken seriously in future.

For more information, refer www.time4education.com/gmat