NMAT

Text

About NMAT

A.    BACKDROP

        1.     NMAT

                   i.       Examination window

                           November and December                           

                   ii.      Conducted by

                           Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)              

                   iii.     Computer-adaptive Test

                   iv.     Test Pattern

                   v.      Timed paper

                   vi.     Order of sections

                            a.      Open ended

                            b.      Six possibilities exist

                            c.      To be chosen at the beginning of the test

                            d.      Should be frozen far in advance

                   vii.    Scoring

                            a.      No negative marking

                            b.      No absolute scoring

                            c.      Relative (scaled) scores provided

                   viii. End of the test

                            a.      Scorecard is momentarily visible

                            b.      Scorecard is mailed after 48 hours

                   ix.     Median Topic Coverage

                            a.      Language Skills

                            b.      Logical Reasoning

                            c.      Quantitative Skills

                   x.      Level of Complexity

                            Depends upon performance.   

B.    COMPUTER-ADAPTIVE TEST  

         1.    Features 

                   i.       Database has a large pool of questions.

                   ii.      A test is generated randomly.

                   iii.     Each question is delivered one at a time.

                   iv.     The subsequent question is selected and delivered based on the outcome of the previous question(s).

                   v.      The questions depend on the level of competence of the candidate in reckoning.

                   vi.     A better performance generates questions of higher level of complexity.

         2.    User Interface 

                   i.       No question palette is present. 

                   ii.      Cannot attempt a question without scrolling the entire basic data and question.

                   iii.     Cannot understand whether the question is part of a block or not.

        3.     Test Taking Implications

                   i.       Explicit

                            a.      Cannot skip questions

                            b.      Cannot go to the next question without answering the present question

                            c.      Cannot go back to a previously answered question

                            d.      No question palette

                   ii.      Implicit

                            a.      Tangible penalty for unattempted questions

                            b.      Intangible penalty for getting incorrect