Dont worry about the new GMAT

BANGALORE: Come June 2012, the prestigious Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) will have a new addition designed to measure your ability to evaluate information from multiple sources. Incorporating advances in technology and measurement, the next generation GMAT will include a new 30-minute Integrated Reasoning section that will ask you to interpret data presented graphically, analyse different types of information, and evaluate outcomes.“I think the new section will provide a platform for the candidates to demonstrate their strengths, in terms of extracting data from various sources, interpreting them and make meaning out of it,” said Ashok Sarathy, vice president, GMAT Operations.The integrated reasoning section will have 12 questions, and the test interface will have an on-screen calculator for candidates to perform calculations.“We did a pilot survey with 740 faculty members of B-schools across the globe, which included the IIMs. We wanted to know if they required GMAT to focus on additional skills from the candidates,” said Sarathy.Before deciding on the addition of the new section, two pilot tests were conducted to gauge response from B-schools and students.“The first pilot test had around 15 questions with a pilot group of 10 students. The best part was that the results matched the requirements of the 740 faculty members we had surveyed,” he said, adding that a field test would be conducted in January 2012 to determine test scores.“We also considered students’ response to the introduction of the new section.On anecdotal basis, the students we tested said that the new section was indeed relevant to the workplace. For instance, one may get mails with information from a number of sources. How will you respond such mass of information coming at you? That is what this section is all about,” said Sarathy.Sarathy further urged the students not to panic as the Integrated Reasoning section was meant to help them showcase their informationinterpretation skill.“I would ask students who are looking for admissions into the 2012 batch to take GMAT in its current format. However, for 2013 admissions, they can take the new format. Besides, the verbal and quantitative sections remain the same,” said Sarathy.For sample questions on the new Integrated Reasoning section, visit www.mba.com.