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A 30-minute Integrated Reasoning section will be added to the Graduate Management Admission Test assessing the ability to assimilate information from multiple sources to solve complex problems. The section, featuring question types that require test takers to generate solutions as well as simply select correct answers, will measure key skills for 21st century business students identified by business school faculty around the world. The Next Generation GMAT makes its debut June 4, 2012.
Like the current version of the test, the Next Generation GMAT does not test business knowledge or terminology, and test takers do not have to have a business background to do well. But the new question types may require students to make interpret graphically presented data, as well as sort spreadsheet-like tables.
“The new integrated reasoning section of the GMAT will be a microcosm of today’s b-school classroom,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “These questions will provide critical intelligence to schools about the ability of prospective students to make sound decisions by evaluating, assimilating or extrapolating data.”
As with previous versions of the exam, the Graduate Management Admission Council consulted leading business school faculty throughout the test development process. The most recent survey of 740 business faculty worldwide in 2009 revealed that they believed incoming students needed to assimilate, interpret, and convert data, evaluate outcomes, and listen. The Next Generation GMAT, now being pilot tested, will measure specific skills that modern graduate business programs demand, such as:
- To assimilate and integrate information from multiple sources to solve complex problems
- To accurately interpret visual and tabular data representations
- To determine or estimate probability and statistics
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