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GMAT Verbal Scores — Convert your Raw Score to a Scaled Score and Percentile Rank
There are actually two different types of GMAT Verbal scores: a scaled score (on a 0-60 scale) and a percentile rank (from 0% to 99%) — although only scaled scores are reported to the schools.
One way to gauge your performance on GMAT practice tests is to calculate a raw score, which is simply the total number of questions you answer correctly, and then use a table to convert that number to a scaled score and percentile rank. The GMAT Verbal section consists of 41 questions. Use the table further down this page to convert your raw score to a scaled score. You can also estimate your percentile rank using the same table.
IMPORTANT: The score conversion table on this page provides only a very rough guide for predicting a GMAT score. The adaptive testing and scoring system built into the GMAT CAT is complex, and your actual GMAT score may differ materially from what the table on this page might suggest.
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raw score | scaled score | percentile rank
41 ------------ 55 ---------- 99
40 ------------ 54 ---------- 99
39 ------------ 53 ---------- 98
38 ------------ 52 ---------- 96-97
37 ------------ 51 ---------- 95-96
36 ------------ 50 ---------- 93-94
35 ------------ 49 ---------- 90-92
34 ------------ 48 ---------- 87-89
33 ---------- 46-47 --------- 84-86
32 ---------- 44-45 --------- 81-83
31 ---------- 42-43 --------- 77-80
30 ---------- 40-41 --------- 73-76
29 ---------- 38-39 --------- 69-72
28 ---------- 36-37 --------- 64-68
27 ---------- 34-35 --------- 58-63
26 ---------- 32-33 --------- 52-57
25 ---------- 30-31 --------- 45-51
24 ---------- 28-29 --------- 44-50
23 ---------- 26-27 --------- 38-43
22 ---------- 24-25 --------- 32-37
21 ---------- 22-23 --------- 27-31
20 ---------- 20-21 --------- 23-26
19 ---------- 18-19 --------- 19-22
18 ---------- 16-17 --------- 16-18
17 ---------- 14-15 --------- 13-15
16 ---------- 12-13 --------- 10-12
15 ------------ 11 ---------- 8-9
14 ------------ 10 ---------- 6-7
12-13 --------- 9 ----------- 4-5
10-11 --------- 8 ----------- 2-3
7-9 ----------- 7 ----------- 1
0-6 ----------- 6 ----------- 0
How to Interpret the Table
- Verbal scaled scores are based on a 0-60 scale. (There's nothing magic about this number range; it's just GMAT testing tradition.)
- Percentile rank (0% to 99%) shows how you performed relative to all others taking the GMAT over a recent multi-year period. A percentile rank of 60, for example, indicates that you scored higher than 60% of all other test takers (and lower than 40% of all other test takers). Remember: Percentile rankings are not reported to the business schools.
- One additional correct response makes the biggest percentile difference near the middle of the performance "curve" (because it's a typical bell curve).
- If you miss 6 or fewer questions out of 41, expect to rank in the top decile (10%) for the GMAT Verbal section.
- If you respond correctly to 25-26 out of all 41 questions, expect to rank close to the 50th percentile for the GMAT Verbal section.
