GMAC launched the GMAT Focus Edition in November 2023 and retired the classic GMAT in February 2024. If you are preparing for the GMAT today, the Focus Edition is the only exam that exists.
It is meaningfully different from the old GMAT — in structure, scoring, and what it tests. This guide explains every change and what it means for how you prepare.
What Changed — Side by Side
| Feature | Old GMAT | GMAT Focus Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Total duration | 3 hrs 7 min | 2 hrs 15 min |
| Sections | AWA + IR + Verbal + Quant | Verbal + Quant + Data Insights |
| AWA (essay) | Yes — 30 min | Removed |
| Integrated Reasoning | Yes — 30 min | Replaced by Data Insights |
| Score range | 200–800 | 205–805 |
| Quant score range | 6–51 | 60–90 |
| Verbal score range | 6–51 | 60–90 |
| Data Insights range | — | 60–90 |
| Section order | Fixed | Flexible — you choose |
| Question review | Not allowed | Allowed — up to 3 changes per section |
| Score preview | After exam | Before deciding to send |
The Three Sections in Detail
Quantitative Reasoning — 21 questions, 45 minutes
The Focus Edition removed Data Sufficiency from Quant and moved it to Data Insights. What remains in Quant is Problem Solving only.
Topics tested:
- Arithmetic — percentages, ratios, rates, work problems
- Algebra — equations, inequalities, functions
- Number properties — divisibility, primes, remainders
- Geometry — lines, angles, triangles, circles, coordinate geometry
- Word problems — combining multiple topics
What changed from old GMAT: The removal of Data Sufficiency makes Quant more calculation-focused and slightly more straightforward. Students who struggled with DS on the old exam often find Focus Quant more approachable.
Difficulty calibration: The GMAT Focus Edition Quant goes up to 805 — the same top score — but starts from a higher floor. The difficulty range within Quant has been compressed slightly compared to the old exam.
Verbal Reasoning — 23 questions, 45 minutes
The Focus Edition removed Sentence Correction entirely. What remains:
- Critical Reasoning — approximately 13-14 questions
- Reading Comprehension — approximately 9-10 questions
What changed from old GMAT: Sentence Correction was the most grammar-heavy component. Its removal shifts Verbal entirely toward reasoning and reading. This benefits students with strong reading skills but weaker grammar knowledge.
Critical Reasoning in the Focus Edition has increased weighting compared to the old exam. The argument analysis skills it tests — identifying assumptions, evaluating evidence, strengthening and weakening conclusions — are now the core of Verbal performance.
Data Insights — 20 questions, 45 minutes
This is the genuinely new section — an evolution of Integrated Reasoning, but more extensive and more central to the overall score.
Question types:
- Data Sufficiency — moved from Quant, same format
- Multi-Source Reasoning — evaluate information from multiple tabs (emails, charts, tables)
- Table Analysis — sort and filter a table to answer questions
- Graphics Interpretation — bar charts, scatter plots, line graphs
- Two-Part Analysis — two-column problem with two answers required
What is actually tested: Synthesis of information from multiple sources, logical reasoning with quantitative data, and the ability to identify what information is sufficient to answer a question. It is the section closest to actual business analysis.
What most students underestimate: Data Insights is the section where students with strong academic backgrounds — especially engineers with strong Quant — get surprised. The multi-source and two-part questions require a different kind of thinking than standard math. Preparation specifically for Data Insights is essential.
The New Scoring System
Total score: 205–805 (in 10-point increments)
Each section scores from 60–90. The total score is a composite — not a simple average — weighted by GMAC's algorithm.
What this means practically:
- A score of 655 does not tell you anything about individual section performance
- Schools look at section scores as well as total score
- A 655 with 89 in Verbal and 62 in Data Insights is a different profile than a 655 with balanced sections
Score goals for target programmes:
- ISB Hyderabad average: 710+
- IIM Ahmedabad PGPX average: 715+
- Top global (Wharton, LBS, INSEAD): 730+ competitive
- Strong programmes in 320-range: 680-710
The Bookmark and Review Feature
This is a significant strategic change from the old GMAT.
In the Focus Edition, you can bookmark questions during a section and return to them before time expires. You can also change up to 3 answers per section.
What this means for strategy:
- You no longer need to commit fully to an answer in real time
- Hard questions can be bookmarked, easier questions attempted first, and then revisited
- Time management becomes about allocation across the section, not question-by-question pacing
Students who used the old "skip and guess immediately" strategy for hard questions should adjust: now you skip, bookmark, and return — making a more considered attempt the second time.
Section Order — You Choose
In the Focus Edition, you select the order of the three sections before the exam begins. The options are:
- Verbal → Quant → Data Insights
- Verbal → Data Insights → Quant
- Quant → Verbal → Data Insights
- Quant → Data Insights → Verbal
- Data Insights → Verbal → Quant
- Data Insights → Quant → Verbal
How to choose: Start with your strongest section. Being in a confident, high-performing state in the first section sets the cognitive tone for the exam. Most high scorers start with their strongest section to build momentum, not their weakest.
How to Prepare for the Focus Edition
Quant: Standard GMAT prep materials work. Focus on Problem Solving accuracy. Khan Academy, GMAT Official Guide problem sets, and timed practice. The concepts have not changed — only DS has moved out.
Verbal: Critical Reasoning is now the dominant skill. Invest heavily here. The GMAT Official Guide and GMAT Prep software are the authoritative sources. Third-party CR materials vary in quality.
Data Insights: This is where most students are under-prepared. Official GMAT prep materials are essential here — third-party materials have not fully caught up to the Focus Edition format. Practice Multi-Source Reasoning and Two-Part Analysis specifically.
Mocks: Use only official GMAT Focus Edition mocks. The scoring algorithm is different from the old exam. Third-party mocks that have not been updated for the Focus Edition will give you misleading score predictions.
The One Thing That Has Not Changed
The GMAT rewards structured thinking more than knowledge.
The questions — whether Quant, Verbal, or Data Insights — are designed to test how you reason, not what you have memorized. Students who try to memorize approaches for every question type plateau. Students who build an underlying reasoning framework that they can adapt to new question structures keep improving.
This was true on the old GMAT. It is equally true on the Focus Edition. The format changed. The underlying skill the exam is testing has not.