Scoring — Raw Score, Scaled Score, and Guessing Penalty

GRE Math Subject · Axiom Academy

LESSON Scoring — Raw Score, Scaled Score, and Guessing Penalty How your performance converts to the final score you see Your raw score is straightforward: the number of questions you answer correctly out of 66, minus a small penalty for wrong answers. Raw Score = (Number Correct) − 0.25 × (Number Wrong) Note: Blank (omitted) answers = 0 points gained or lost This is the key detail: a wrong answer costs you 0.25 points , and a blank costs you 0. So if you can eliminate even one wrong option and have a 50/50 guess, the expected value of guessing is positive. The guessing penalty is light compared to the general GRE. This changes strategy significantly. Step 2: Guessing Penalty Analysis Let's do the math. If you guess randomly among 5 choices: You have a 20% chance of being correct: +1 point You have an 80% chance of being wrong: −0.25 points Expected value = 0.20(1) + 0.80(−0.25) = 0.20 − 0.20 = 0 So pure random guessing on all 66 questions is expected to give a raw score near 0. But smart guessing is different: If you can eliminate 1 wrong answer: 25% chance correct → EV = 0.25(1) + 0.75(−0.25) = 0.0625 → Guess! If you can eliminate 2 wrong answers: 33% chance correct → EV = 0.33(1) + 0.67(−0.25) = 0.165 → Definitely guess! If you have no idea: Don't guess. Blank it. You cannot be careless with wrong answers. Each one costs 0.25 raw points. In a test where the average score is ~36/66, every raw point matters. Step 3: Raw to Scaled Score Conversion

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