The Executive Assessment is a test administered by the GMAC. It was originally designed for admission to executive MBA programs but in recent years it’s become increasingly accepted by regular MBA programs.
Those who are planning to take a practice GMAT or the GRE have a lot of options. In contrast those who want to take practice Executive Assessments have very little in the way of serious resources available to them.
Who should take the Executive Assessment?
This new test was originally intended for working professionals applying to Executive MBA programs.
What’s on the Executive Assessment?
There are three sections on the EA: Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. In that way, the test is similar to the GMAT, which includes each of those sections. Unlike the GMAT, however, the Executive Assessment doesn’t have an essay section. It also takes much less time to complete—90 minutes compared to 3.5 hours. Let’s take a closer look at each section.
Integrated Reasoning: In this section, you will have 30 minutes to complete 12 questions that evaluate your ability to interpret graphics and tables, analyze complex problems, and answer multiple choice questions. This section emphasizes logic and reasoning, presenting you with questions designed to see how well you evaluate information based on multiple sources and formats. Unlike the GMAT, your performance on this section affects your core EA score.
Verbal Reasoning: In this section, you will have 30 minutes to complete 14 questions that test your ability to read comprehensive sections, evaluate arguments, and correct sentences. It’s designed to assess how you can read, interpret, and edit.
Quantitative Reasoning: In this section, you will have 30 minutes to complete 14 questions that assess your ability to interpret data and solve problems. It’s designed to see how you draw conclusions and analyze data using your math and reasoning skills. In terms of math, you can expect to use basic arithmetic and some algebra. Unlike the GMAT geometry is not tested.
Executive Assessment vs GMAT
There’s no essay (Analytical Writing Assessment) on the Executive Assessment. It shares sections and question types with the GMAT, though it’s a much shorter exam (only 90 minutes compared to the GMAT’s 3.5 hours).
You should also know that the Executive Assessment test is “multi-stage” computer adaptive. This means that groups of questions are selected for you depending on your answer to the previous question. The GMAT releases one question at a time depending on whether you got the previous question right or wrong.
Registration and fees?
Create an online account with GMAC, so you can schedule your test date. Like the GMAT, the Executive Assessment is given year-round in most locations around the world. It costs US$350 globally.
Resource for Practice
The only companies that offer a practice Executive Assessment are the GMAC, Beacon Community, and CAT Prep.
We’ve provided more information about prep resources in this blog.