GMAT Exam Pattern 2023

Conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) for more than 60 years, the GMAT is a ‘Computer Adaptive Test’ which is backed by decades of peer-reviewed research including hundreds of validity studies in the last 10 years alone. The GMAT exam score is accepted by more than 2,400 MBA colleges and universities across the Globe. The GMAT 2023 exam pattern is developed to primarily test a candidate’s Reasoning Skills. The exam is conducted round the year and you can apply and appear in GMAT 5 times a year to improve your GMAT score and percentile. GMAT is conducted in two testing modes – Computer based test at Exam Centres and Online Proctored Test which you can take from the convenience of your home. Read Table of Contents below to know all about the GMAT 2023 Exam key highlights, pattern, testing mode, sectional composition, scoring pattern, key changes and more

Table of Contents

1. GMAT Test Pattern 2023: Key Highlights
2. GMAT Exam Pattern 2023: Sectional Composition & Score Range
3. GMAT Test Pattern 2023: Key Facts
4. GMAT Test Pattern: What is a Computer Adaptive Test?
5. GMAT Exam Pattern at Test Center & Online Exam: Similarities & Differences
6. GMAT Pattern to Change as GMAT Exam Focus Edition in 2024

1. GMAT Test Pattern 2023: Key Highlights
There are four different sections in GMAT Exam Format 2023, namely Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA); Integrated Reasoning (IR); Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning.

Total duration of GMAT test pattern 2023 is three hours and seven minutes with specific time allotted for each of the four sections. Key highlights of GMAT exam structure and scoring pattern are as shared below:

Business schools worldwide use GMAT scores as part of their admissions process to evaluate applicants' academic abilities and potential for success in graduate business programs.  

 2. GMAT Exam Pattern 2023: Sectional Composition & Score Range

The GMAT exam is designed to test skills that are highly important to business and management programs. It assesses analytical writing and problem-solving abilities, along with the data sufficiency, logic, and critical reasoning skills that are vital to real-world business and management success. In June 2012, the GMAT exam introduced Integrated Reasoning, a new section designed to measure a test taker’s ability to evaluate information presented in new formats and from multiple sources—skills necessary for management students to succeed in a technologically advanced and data-rich world.

3. GMAT Test Pattern 2023: Key Facts

• GMAT exam has a sectional time limit which varies with each section.
• Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections in GMAT Exam are computer adaptive and have multiple-choice questions.
• In the Quantitative Reasoning & Verbal Reasoning sections, one cannot skip, return to or change the response to the previous questions.
• There are two 8-minutes breaks during the GMAT exam. These breaks are, however, optional
• Test takers are given three options to choose the order in which they can attempt the four sections of the GMAT exam. Test takers can attempt the exam in one of the following three orders –
  • Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, Verbal
  • Verbal, Quantitative, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment
  • Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment
• Analytical Writing Assessment consists of an essay question and Integrated Reasoning consists of non-MCQs

4. GMAT Test Pattern: What is a Computer Adaptive Test?
GMAT is a ‘computer-adaptive’ entrance examination. This is different from being merely a ‘computer-based’ test. In a computer-adaptive test, candidates will receive questions one at a time and the difficulty level and score of the GMAT 2023 will depend on the accuracy of the previous answer of the candidate as below:

• If the response to the previous question is accurate, the next question will be of higher difficulty level If the answer is incorrect, the following question will be of lower difficulty level and will get scored accordingly
• The final score, as per the paper pattern of GMAT 2023 depends on the difficulty level of questions that the student had attempted
• Correct answers to difficult questions will result in obtaining higher scores while correct responses to easier questions will result in getting lower scores

5. GMAT Exam Pattern at Test Center & Online Exam: Similarities & Differences
Key Features, similarities and differences in GMAT 2023 exam pattern at Test Centre and Online Exam are as below:

5.1 GMAT Exam at Test Center & Online Exam: Similarities

5.2 GMAT Exam at Test Center & Online Exam: Differences

6. Current GMAT Pattern to Change as GMAT Exam Focus Edition in 2024
The current version of the GMAT™ exam pattern will continue to be available until early next year and will change to GMAT Exam Focus Edition in 2024 with more flexibility, shorter duration, three sections instead of present four sections with the score of all the 3 sections taken into account for score and percentile calculation. The registration for the GMAT Exam Focus Edition begins on August 29, 2023 and the first GMAT exam focus edition will be conducted from October 2023.