More / Less Commonly Tested Areas

[happycamper312]

Hello!
I know that the GMAT tends to change which quantitative topics to test over time. As of now, which topics are more commonly tested, and which are not? I read in a blog entry that in the past, algebra and number properties were more commonly tested, while geometry is not. Statistics, fractions, percents, and general word problems were more commonly tested, while probability, combinatorics, sets, and digits are less commonly tested.

Does this still hold true today? Thanks much :)

[RonPurewal]

Hello!
I know that the GMAT tends to change which quantitative topics to test over time. As of now, which topics are more commonly tested, and which are not? I read in a blog entry that in the past, algebra and number properties were more commonly tested, while geometry is not. Statistics, fractions, percents, and general word problems were more commonly tested, while probability, combinatorics, sets, and digits are less commonly tested.

Does this still hold true today? Thanks much :)

there hasn't been a significant amount of evolution, actually; the quantitative section is remarkably similar to its incarnation of several years ago.
if anything, there has probably been a small move toward the more "practical" / "real world" problem types (word problems, statistics, percentages/fractions, etc.), and away from the most theoretical topics (like primes and so on). but, there haven't been any big moves.

in data sufficiency, there has also been a marked increase in the number of problems on which algebra won't work and on which you must test cases.

in any case, the "trends" you mentioned aren't necessarily real trends in the first place -- they may merely be an artifact of the way we classify the problems.
e.g., "number properties" is a vast topic, covering all sorts of different ideas, while, say, "algebra" is much more circumscribed. so, you may get more problems classified as "number properties", but, if you do, that may just reflect the larger number of topics that fall under the "number properties" umbrella rather than any preponderance of problems in those topics.

[happycamper312]

Thanks for the reply!!! :)

[jlucero]

Glad it was of help.