Graduate management schools around the world are using results from the Executive Assessment exam as part of their application process in the Executive MBA (EMBA) programs so that they are able to gain insight on your business skills when reviewing your Executive Assessment results. The Executive Assessment exam was created by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Council - also the creators of the GMAT exam.
The assessment is composed of three sections. All three sections of the assessment measure higher-order reasoning skills, including complex judgments, critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving.
Integrated Reasoning: 12 questions, 30 minutes
Verbal Reasoning: 14 questions, 30 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning: 14 questions, 30 minutes
TOTAL: 40 questions, 90 minutes
No breaks will be provided during the assessment.
You will not be able to bring your own calculator - a calculator will be provided to you to use during the Integrated Reasoning section only. You will be given with a note board and marker to work out your calculations for the Quantitative Reasoning section. You will be provided with a locker to store your personal belongings.
The assessment uses multi-stage adaptive design, similar to computer adaptive testing - questions are interactively selected based on your previous answer. But, groups of questions are selected, rather than individual questions, which creates a test that is most relevant to each student’s performance level.
At the end of each section, you will have an opportunity for you to review and change your responses or return to any questions you may have skipped. Note: you can only review and change responses within a given module. Once you have moved onto the next module, you are unable to change responses in a previous module.
No breaks will be provided during the assessment.
You will receive results for each of the three sections: Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning, as well as a Total score. All three sections are equally weighted in determining your Total score.
The Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning sections are scaled from 0 to 20. The total score ranges from 100 to 200.
You can only take the Executive Assessment twice!
Typically, EMBA programs are part-time in the evenings and on weekends, while you continue to work full-time. Programs typically last 2 years in the US (like MBA programs) and 1 year in Europe.
The exam was specifically designed for busy, mid-to-late career professionals to help schools understand:
EMBA applicants are usually older and possess greater experience (usually 10-15 years), whereas MBA applicants have less experience (less than 5 years) and are often looking for an immediate career change or are seeking broader experience for career advancement.
EMBAs are catered towards working professionals with extensive work experience, generally 10-15 years. The admissions teams are typically seeking a varied professional background and with diverse work experience. It is assumed that applicants will already have extensive business knowledge picked up over their career, so they are not usually required to sit entry exams like the GMAT exam. Instead, you are only asked to sit through the shortened exam: Executive Assessment exam. However, a GMAT score may be required for applicants without a bachelor’s degree.
In contrast, full-time MBA admission depends on both GMAT scores and essays. A minimum GMAT score of 600 is required in most schools, with top institutions requiring 700 and above. Although more management experience is a definite advantage for MBA study, students are generally only required to have up to 3 years work experience.