An article posted on the site Poets & Quants reports that according to GMAC currently 28% of GMAT test takers take the exam at least twice if not more, compared with only 22-24% last year.

GMAC attributes the increase to improvements it incorporated into the exam over the last two years, like the option to cancel the score at the test center immediately after completing the exam and blocking the score from schools, as well as shortening the waiting time an applicant must wait between exams.

Among test takers, 43% send the results to full-time MBA programs and are more likely to take the test several times in order to improve their score and admission chances to selective programs, while applicants to part-time or EMBA programs usually take only one exam since the admission chances to these programs are higher.

Another relevant fact is that those that take the test for the second time improve their score by 30.3 points on average. Of course significant improvement is more likely for applicants whose scores are relatively low on their first exam. There are applicants however who score 700 or above and choose to take the exam again, whether to improve their score or show the admissions committee their lack of laziness.

Test takers who score 600-690 on their first exam improve their score by an average 20 points on their second exam, and almost 30 points on their fourth. Those who score 500-590 on their first exam improve their score by an average 35 points on their second, and 60 points on the fourth. On the other hand, those who scored 700-790 on the first exam improve their score only by an average 10 points on their second.