Quantitative Test Woes: 3 Questions Left, How Many Points Did I Lose?

[rjs123]

So i took the test today and did personally well in the quantitative section...680...but i ran out of time with 3 questions left when i did the 28 question section. How many points do you think that cost me and do you think it would have been better to randomly select answers?

 

[davesface]

According to the ETS website:

If you are running out of time at the end of a section, make every effort to complete the test. Data indicate that most test takers get higher scores if they finish the test. In fact, based on analyses of test takers, a majority of test takers will score higher if they finish the test than if they do not attempt to answer all of the questions. There is a chance that guessing at the end of the test can seriously lower your score. The best strategy is to pace yourself so that you have time to consider each test question and won't have to guess.

There might be a minor statistical advantage one way or the other, but it's impossible to say whether or not it would've been better for your particular case. I'm a cautious person, so I would say it's better to take the +0 than risk losing points, but that's just personal preference.

As for how many points it cost you, it's impossible to say because the point values of the questions are scaled.

First, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of correct answers minus one-fourth the number of incorrect answers.

The raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating that accounts for differences in difficulty among the different test editions. Thus, a given scaled score reflects approximately the same level of ability regardless of the edition of the test that was taken.

Also the average Quant score for people in the physical sciences (which I assume you are) was 691 from the latest data I could see on their website, so you may want to consider retaking the test.

 

[rjs123]

According to the ETS website:



There might be a minor statistical advantage one way or the other, but it's impossible to say whether or not it would've been better for your particular case. I'm a cautious person, so I would say it's better to take the +0 than risk losing points, but that's just personal preference.

As for how many points it cost you, it's impossible to say because the point values of the questions are scaled.




Also the average Quant score for people in the physical sciences (which I assume you are) was 691 from the latest data I could see on their website, so you may want to consider retaking the test.

I'm attempting to go into compsci