Students aspiring to take the Graduate Management Aptitute Test (GMAT) exam from June 2012 onwards would see a new pattern with the addition of a new 30-minute integrated reasoning section.
The Next Generation GMAT will include a section that will ask students to interpret data presented graphically, analyse different types of information and evaluate outcomes.
At present, the three-and-a-half-hour test comprises three sections ? 60 minutes of analytical writing assessment and 75 minutes each of quantitative and verbal sections. The new pattern ? of the same duration ? will have 30 minutes of analytical writing assessment, including only one essay instead of two with another 30 minutes of integrated reasoning. The other two sections would remain the same.
?The GMAT verbal, quantitative and total scores will not change. We have been working on the new pattern for the last 12-15 months,? said Ashok Sarathy, vice-president, GMAT programme. Integrated reasoning will require skills which are necessary to respond to the complex challenges presented in business school programmes and in today?s information-rich business environment.
In India, almost 45 business schools and more than a hundred programmes accept GMAT scores up from 20 B-schools and 38 programmes in 2007. The scores are valid for five years. Globally, 5,000 programmes and 1,900 management institutes accept GMAT scores.
?We are in the process of reaching out to the new IIMs besides launching a new test preparation material from April next year,? he added.
In fact, the Graduate Management Admission Council that conducts GMAT, is looking to add more centres in India from where the exam can be administered. At present, there are 15 such centres and smaller cities like Nagpur and Vishakhapatnam are on the council?s radar.
?We have invested more than $2 million in India till now. We plan to start professional development programmes in the country to help admissions professionals who can select quality students for us,? Sarathy added.
