What a difference a year makes. Kaplan Test Prep’s 2015 survey of admissions officers at over 200 business schools across the United States and United Kingdom finds that 59% say an applicant’s separate score on the GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section (launched in June 2012) is an important part of their evaluation of a prospective student’s overall GMAT score.* This represents a significant change of opinion from Kaplan’s 2014 survey, when just 41% said an applicant’s Integrated Reasoning score was an important part of their overall GMAT score evaluation.

“Now that MBA programs have an additional year’s worth of data on the Integrated Reasoning section and have become more familiar with what it measures, it’s understandable why more have decided that it should be an important part of how they evaluate an applicant’s overall GMAT score,” said Brian Carlidge, executive director of pre-business and pre-graduate programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “As more and more applicants submit scores from the current GMAT over the next couple of years, Integrated Reasoning performance might continue to increase in importance, which is why we strongly advise MBA applicants to prepare for and do well on this section. Remember that Integrated Reasoning receives its own special score, so doing well on it can distinguish you in a positive way if your performance on other sections of the exam like Quantitative, Verbal or Analytical Writing Assessment is lacking. A high score on IR can give you that competitive edge. On the flip side, a low score can hurt you.”

With a 1-8 scoring scale, Integrated Reasoning includes four question types: table analysis, graphics interpretation, multi-source reasoning and two-party analysis.

Fore more information about Kaplan’s survey results about the GMAT, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538.

*The survey was conducted between August 2015 and September 2015 of admissions officers at 214 business schools in the United States (209) and United Kingdom (5). Among the 214 business schools are 21 of the top 50, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council™. Kaplan materials do not contain actual GMAT items and are neither endorsed by nor affiliated in any way with GMAC.

About Kaplan Test Prep

Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC)