All about Executive Assessment | Practice test, format, scoring & more!

Launched by the same organization that created GMAT, the Executive Assessment exam is an alternative way for business schools to measure an applicant’s readiness for college. This test is short, sweet, and super-easy to prepare for, especially if you already have quite a few years of work experience! So what are you waiting for? Dive in and learn everything there is to know about EA – who is it for, test format, scoring, registration, and even how to use the Executive Assessment practice test for your prep!

What is the Executive Assessment test and who is it for?

Executive Assessment, or EA, is an alternative to the GMAT exam. The test is designed for experienced professionals who are looking to pursue an Executive MBA abroad but don’t have a lot of time to prepare for the GMAT. As a result, EA is easy to schedule, short in duration, and requires minimal preparation.

At the same time, this exam is designed to measure skills that are critical both at work and in a business program. Like high order reasoning, problem-solving, critical thinking, and analysis. What’s more, Executive Assessment is slowly gaining popularity and is being accepted by more and more business schools worldwide.

So, if you want to put minimal effort into sharpening your skills and enter a business program feeling confident, then EA is for you.

What’s the Executive Assessment test prep time?

Since GMAC has designed the Executive Assessment to test the skills you have already acquired while working, it takes minimal or no preparation to attempt the EA. All you have to do is “Review practice questions to familiarize yourself with question formats and refresh your skills.”

On the other hand, when comparing the Executive Assessment vs GMAT prep time, you’ll see that GMAT usually requires 2 to 3 months of preparation and practice. 

Can you tell me about the exam pattern?

The Executive Assessment is a flexible, 90-minute test with 40 questions spanning 3 different sections.

These sections include – Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning.

Section	Questions	Question type	Skills measured	Time allotted
Integrated Reasoning	12	Multi-Source ReasoningGraphics InterpretationTwo-Part AnalysisTable Analysis	The ability to evaluate information presented in multiple formats from multiple sources.	30 minutes
Verbal Reasoning	14	Reading ComprehensionCritical ReasoningSentence Correction	The ability to evaluate arguments and to read, understand, and edit written material using standard English.	30 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning	14	Data SufficiencyProblem Solving	The ability to analyze data and draw conclusions using secondary school-level reasoning skills.	30 minutes

A few important things to note here are-

1. Unlike GMAT, which is question-adaptive, EA is sub-section-adaptive.
   This means that if you do well in the first half of, say, the Verbal Reasoning section, then the next 7 questions of that section will be more difficult for you to attempt.
2. Another difference between Executive Assessment vs GMAT is that in EA, you can review and change your answers at the end of a sub-section.
   But remember, the time you take to review and submit your answers within the first half of a section will be deducted from the time allotted to the next sub-section.

What about the Executive Assessment score structure?

We already know that the EA test is divided into 3 sections. When it comes to scoring, each section – Integrated, Verbal, and Quantitative Reasoning – has a scale of 0 to 20.

The total scale of the test, on the other hand, ranges from 100 to 200.

As for what is a good Executive Assessment score, top business schools like Wharton, Booth, Columbia, etc. accept scores within the range of 150 to 160 and above.

But this does not mean that a score below 150 won’t get you anywhere. To find out schools that are suitable for your profile, you can always check out the list of schools accepting EA and check their score expectations.

Note: Just like in GMAT, your Executive Assessment score will be valid for 5 years after the test date.

How do I register for the exam?

If you have decided to register for the EA exam, follow these 4 steps-

1. Create an Executive Assessment account on the GMAC website and fill in some basic personal information
2. Choose the programs you want to send your scores to (you can skip this step and pick at a later stage)
3. Schedule a test appointment at the nearest test center or online (yes, you can attempt the Executive Assessment online!)
4. Once you have made the appointment, pay the Executive Assessment registration fee of $350

If due to any unforeseen circumstances, you have to cancel your appointment, an amount of $100 will be deducted. And in case you reschedule within 24 and 48 hours of your test, $75 will be taken from your original payment before refund.

How to prepare for the Executive Assessment test?

Preparing for the EA test isn’t as time-consuming as preparing for the GMAT.

To start with, you can set aside a few hours every weekend for test prep, and create a study schedule accordingly-

1. The first step for you will be to attempt an Executive Assessment practice test. You will find one on the official GMAC website for free. This will help you understand which areas you need to improve upon.

2. Now, you can divide your preparation into section and topic-wise modules. Make sure to attempt the Executive Assessment practice test at periodic intervals during your prep and modify your action points accordingly.

3. A week before the exam, attempt a full-length mock test and another Executive Assessment practice test which will give you the test-day experience.

As for prep material, we recommend that you head to the GMAC website and use Executive Assessment Official Prep so you can study with assurance.

Which schools are accepting Executive Assessment scores?

The Executive Assessment, launched in March 2016, is a relatively new test.

Despite that, a growing number of business schools rely on EA to gain insights into the caliber of their applicants and their readiness for business school.

While you will find a comprehensive list of these universities on the GMAC website, we have created a list of some of the topmost schools here-

1. University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business
2. Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business
3. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
4. University of Colorado Boulder Leeds Business School
5. Cornell University Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
6. EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey
7. ESADE Business School
8. ESMT Berlin
9. HEC Paris
10. INSEAD
11. University of Iowa Tippie College of Business
12. London Business School
13. McGill & HEC Montreal
14. University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business
15. MIT Sloan School of Management
16. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
17. Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
18. Stanford Graduate School of Business
19. UCLA Anderson School of Management
20. University of Virginia Darden School of Business

When you check out this list, you’ll learn that some of these schools accept Executive Assessment scores for a few programs other than EMBA as well!

Now, the next step for you is to shortlist the right university and get started on your applications.

If you get stuck or need any more information, you can always drop a comment or reach out to us!

We’d be very happy to help!