GMAT Focus Edition

The GMAT Focus Edition offers a shorter test primarily aimed at business skills. Its purpose is to help students apply to business school and enhance career success more quickly. Some may argue this change is an effort to align the GMAT more closely with the GRE, which has been gaining popularity.

Summary of Changes for GMAT Focus Edition:

• The test consists of three 45-minute sections.
• There is no essay section; all questions are multiple-choice.
• Overall, the test is one hour shorter, making it the shortest GMAT ever!
• With reduced content, students have less to study for preparation.
• After receiving a score, candidates can send it to five schools for free.
• The sections focus solely on relevant business skills.
• Students receive personalized performance feedback on these skills.
• Candidates can change three questions per section.
• There’s the option to self-select the order of the sections.
• The sections are more focused and streamlined.

Part 2:The GMAT Focus Edition launched on August 29, 2023. It will run alongside the existing GMAT exam until January 31, 2024. During this period, candidates can register for either exam or both. Starting February 1, 2024, only the GMAT Focus Edition will be administered.

GMAC has released additional information on the test.

1. Test prep materials are launched. You can find it on MBA.com..
2. Test registration for the focus edition is open now.

There will be 3 sections. Each section is 45 minutes.

• Verbal — 23 Questions — Critical Reasoning & Reading Comp (Yes, that’s right, no more misplaced modifiers or pronoun errors. Sentence correction will be a thing of the GMAT past.)
• Quant — 21 Questions — No more geometry and no data sufficiency in Quant
• Data Insights — 20 Questions — IR and Data Sufficiency (likely 12 IR and 8 DS)
• Test-takers will be able to bookmark questions as they proceed through each section.
• At the end of the section–provided that there is time remaining–the test-taker sees a review and edit screen.
• From there, it’s possible to navigate back to both bookmarked and non-bookmarked questions. (That sounds like that other test that starts with a GRE!!)
• Test-takers can change their answer to up to 3 questions per section.

Part 3

Here are some key points about GMAT Focus Edition:

Registration and testing have begun.

The overall score ranges from 205 to 805 in 10-point increments, with scores ending in a 5 to help distinguish them from previous versions. Sub scores will range from 60 to 90 in 1-point increments, with all three sections, Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights, contributing equally to the overall score.

GMAC has released a score concordance indicating that a score of 645 is the new equivalent of 700. Although test-takers and schools are advised against comparing the two versions, this information is available.

The Focus Edition includes an enhanced score report detailing performance on different question types and comparisons with peers from the last 5 years.

Moreover, students no longer need to cancel scores and have flexibility in choosing which scores to send to schools. This is a significant update with the GMAT Focus edition!

Complete Write-Up on GMAT Focus Edition

In this blog, you will learn all we know about the new GMAT Focus Edition so far. We explain how it is different from the current GMAT, such as how the verbal, quantitative, and integrated reasoning sections have changed.

What Is the GMAT Focus Edition?

This newer version of the GMAT—GMAT Focus Edition—is, according to GMAC, “a more focused test-taking experience that hones in on the higher-order critical reasoning and data literacy skills that are especially relevant and applicable in the business environment of tomorrow.”

Even after the changes, which will be discussed in depth in this blog, the GMAT will still be a standardized test that business schools use to assess the skills of MBA and EMBA aspirants.

So, the essential goal of the GMAT remains unchanged. The skills you currently need to demonstrate well on the current GMAT will essentially be the same on the  Focus Edition. The GMAT Focus Edition syllabus will cover these skills in detail.

When Is the GMAT Focus Edition Scheduled To Be Rolled Out?

The GMAT Focus Edition testing began on November 7, 2023. The Official Prep was available on MBA.com, and registration was open for candidates interested in taking the exam. For those who were preparing for the GMAT at that time, there was no need to worry! The previous edition of the GMAT and the current GMAT official materials, including official practice tests, remained accessible until January 31, 2024. This ensured that candidates preparing for the GMAT with upcoming business school application deadlines did not experience delays or disruptions to their plans.

As of February 2024, the GMAT Focus Edition is in full swing for candidates looking to pursue their business school aspirations.

How is the GMAT Focus Edition Different from the Current GMAT Edition?

Let’s skim through the variations in structure and content between the GMAT Focus Edition and the current GMAT.

Format Changes

With the upcoming Focus Edition, the GMAT’s format will undergo significant changes.

Test Time

One of the most significant changes to the GMAT is the duration of the test. The GMAT Focus Edition is just 2 hours and 15 minutes long (excluding breaks), while the current GMAT is 3 hours and 7 minutes long (excluding breaks).

Thus, the  Focus Edition is approximately 1 hour shorter than the current GMAT.

See the table below for a breakdown of GMAT Focus Edition timing by section and question:

Section Order Choice

The GMAT Focus Edition offers greater flexibility in choosing the order of sections, which is a welcome change. Unlike the current GMAT, which provides three fixed options for section order, the Focus Edition allows you to take the three sections in any order you prefer.

This means that instead of just three options, you will have six possible combinations to choose from: Data Insights (DI), Quantitative Reasoning (QR), and Verbal Reasoning (VR).

Adaptability

The most significant change to the adaptive nature of the test is that all three sections of the Focus Edition are adaptive. So, the Data Insights (DI) section, which is called Integrated Reasoning (IR) on the current GMAT, will also be adaptive. The Verbal and Quantitative sections will, of course, also be adaptive.

Question Review and Edit

One cool new thing about the GMAT Focus Edition is that you can go back and change your answers in each section.

However, this functionality is no longer unlimited. The Focus Edition continues to be a question-adaptive test. For the scoring system to function, then, the majority of your responses in a section must stay unaffected. So, you can change up to three responses in each section.

In addition, in each section, you may review your responses to as many questions as you want; the bookmarking option allows you to mark as many questions as you like so that you can simply return to them later.

So, let’s say you bookmarked six questions in a section because you were uncertain of your responses. Understanding that you can only change responses to 3 questions, you could, if time allows, revisit and review them, then decide which 3 responses need to be changed.

Scoring

The GMAT’s scoring system will also undergo a significant change. In addition to your Quantitative and Verbal scores, your Data Insights (DI) score, which substitutes for Integrated Reasoning (IR), will contribute equally to your GMAT Total Score. As you may be aware, the IR section of the current GMAT is scored separately and does not contribute to your GMAT Total Score.

Scores on the GMAT Focus Edition also look a little different. Each section is scored on a scale of 60–90 with 1-point increments, and the Total Score is on a scale of 205–805 with 10-point increments.

GMAT Focus Edition Scoring
	Scale	Increments
Quantitative Reasoning	60-90	1
Verbal Reasoning	60-90	1
Data Insights	60-90	1
Total Score	205-805	10

Hence, the maximum possible score on the GMAT Focus Edition is 805, as opposed to 800 on the current GMAT. Since Integrated Reasoning (IR) is no longer a part of the Focus Edition, its 0–8 score is irrelevant.

Reporting of Score

With the new edition of the GMAT, score reporting is also being updated, and test-takers will certainly benefit from the changes.

With the GMAT Focus Edition, like with the current GMAT, test-takers will be able to send their scores to up to five schools for free.

In addition, any Official Score Report you send will only include a single and the latest GMAT score, not your entire GMAT score history. So, after taking the GMAT Focus Edition and seeing your score, you can decide to send it to a few colleges (five) for free. The schools you select on your test day will only see your score from the most recent test you took, not your scores from the previous five years.

Hence, you are not required to disclose past results to colleges if you choose not to.

Enhanced Score Report

Currently, test-takers may ask for an Extended Score Report (ESR) for $30 after taking the GMAT. The ESR provides more information on the test’s performance across the many test sections and question types than is available on the normal score report.

With the GMAT Focus Edition, test-takers do not need to apply for an ESR in order to get this sort of performance data. Instead, each GMAT test-taker will get “personalized insights” about their performance in a full and expanded score report that is provided with GMAT registration.

Now that we know how the GMAT Focus Edition is different from the current GMAT in terms of structure, let’s explore the changes in content.

Changes in Content

The majority of the GMAT Focus Edition’s content will be the same as what the current GMAT covers. Nonetheless, there are significant changes to be aware of in all sections of the test. Let’s begin with a massive change: the GMAT essay.

AWA

The GMAT Focus Edition will not have an essay section. So, unlike the current GMAT, all questions on the new GMAT will be multiple-choice.

Since the AWA takes up 30 minutes of the current GMAT’s test time, its removal from the GMAT Focus Edition is one of the reasons why the new GMAT is shorter.

Quants

The Quantitative section of the  Focus Edition retains the Problem-Solving problems that the current GMAT has. Nevertheless, the  Quant section will no longer contain Data Sufficiency problems, which is a significant shift. Data Sufficiency is moved to the Data Insights (DI) section.

Nonetheless, it looks like the topics covered in the Quantitative section will stay essentially the same.

All topics that the current GMAT quant section covers are retained in the Focus Edition. Yet, the list misses one key topic: Geometry. It looks like Geometry will no longer be included in the Quant section.

As Geometry does not feature on the Executive Assessment (EA), which the GMAT Focus Edition mimics in numerous respects, the absence of Geometry does not surprise us.

Verbal

Comparing the current GMAT to the GMAT Focus Edition, the Verbal section has seen the most significant changes. The Verbal section of the Focus Edition will consist only of Reading Comprehension (RC) and Critical Reasoning (CR). Thus, the Verbal section will not feature Sentence Correction (SC).

In the current GMAT, about one-third of the Verbal section is comprised of Sentence Correction problems. Many GMAT test-takers find Sentence Correction to be the simplest sub-section of the Verbal section, both in terms of their knowledge of the content and their ability to answer problems correctly. So, the absence of Sentence Correction makes the Verbal section look more difficult than ever for some test-takers.

Integrated Reasoning (IR)—Transforming into Data Insights (DI)

In contrast to the Verbal and Quantitative sections, which are both reducing, the GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section is broadening and is renamed Data Insights.

The Data Insights (DI) section of the  Focus Edition has the same Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR), Table Analysis (TA), Graphical Interpretation (GI), and Two-Part Analysis (2PA) problems that feature on the current GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section. In addition, the DI section will contain the Data Sufficiency problems that have traditionally been included in the Quant section.

Consequences of the Content Changes

GMAC states that the GMAT Focus Edition is “more efficient” and “more focused” on essential business skills compared to the current GMAT.

The removal of Geometry and Sentence Correction has streamlined the number of topics, potentially reducing study content. The move of Data Sufficiency to the Data Insights section is unlikely to affect test-takers, as understanding the concepts and techniques for these questions remains important.

GMAC also claims the GMAT Focus Edition will assess data analytic abilities in new ways, though it’s unclear what this means for the Data Insights section and whether its questions will mirror Integrated Reasoning questions. Despite these changes, preparing for the  Focus Edition will still demand significant time, effort, and commitment.

Major Differences Between the GMAT Focus Edition and the Current GMAT

Scoring
	Current GMAT	GMAT Focus Edition
Total Test Time (ext. breaks)	3 hours 7 min.	2 hours 15 min.
No. of Sections	4	3
Section Types	AWA, IN, Quant, Verbal	Data Insights, Quant, Verbal
Question Types	AWA: Essay; IR: MSR, TA, GI, TA; Quant: PS, DS; Verbal: SC, CR, RC	DI : DS, MSR, TAS GI, TA ; Quant : PS ; Verbal : CR, RC
Time Per Section	AWA: 30 min.; R: 30 min.; Quant: 62 min.; Verbal: 75 min.	DI: 45 min.; Quant: 45 min.; Verbal: 45 min.
Time Per Question	AWA: 30 min.; IN: 230 min.; Quant: 2 min.; Verbal: 1 min. 48 sec.	DI : 2 min. 15 Sec. ; Quant : 2 min. 9 Sec. ; Verbal : 2 min.
Review and Bookmarking	No	Yes (edit up to 3 responses)
Section Order Choices	3	6
Section Score Range	6-51	60-90
Total Score Range	200-800	205-805
Score Reporting	Select five schools before seeing score; schools see all previous scores	Select five schools after seeing score; schools do not see previous scores
Enhanced Score Report (ESR)	$30	Free

Key Takeaways

• The  Focus Edition is about an hour shorter than the current GMAT.
• The  Focus Edition testing starts on November 7, 2023.
• The current GMAT consists of four sections; however, the GMAT Focus Edition comprises only three: Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights.
• Unlike the current GMAT, in which the Total Score consists of scores from only two sections, Quantitative and Verbal, the Total Score for the GMAT Focus Edition will consist of scores from all three sections, Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights.
• Content-wise, the GMAT Focus Edition is virtually identical to the current GMAT, except for Geometry and Sentence Correction.