How the CAT is Marked

Overview The Common Admission Test is scored using scientifically provenand internationally accepted techniques which ensureaccuracy and fairness. There arecertain reasons why Prometric and the Indian Institutes of Management selected this method of scoring. More information is available on the CAT (www.catiim.in)

Requirements In order to expand access to maximum number of candidates, the test design for the CAT must accommodate these requirements:

1. Fairness: Each submitted test must accurately reflect the performance of the candidate. No external factors, such as the date, time or location of the test, should impact the final score.

2. Convenience: The test must be administered across multiple testing locations, dates and times.

3. Security: Test content must be protected from exposure and theft. Solution Prometric creates multiple forms, or versions of the paper,and scores them using a multi-step process which ensures that even though each candidate took as lightly different paper,they are evaluated on equal terms.

How does this work?
Step One: The first in Cat scoring is calculating the raw score. Candidates get three points foreach correct answer and one point is subtracted for each incorrect answer, so thattheyare only rewarded forwhatthey knowand not forrandom guessing.

Step Two: Because versions of the paper aredifferent, some forms maybe slightly moredifficult than others. Forthis reason, the second step of the process involves equating the forms.

A small number of questions are present in more than one version of the paper. These questions allow us to me a sure how candidates taking different forms compare against each other when asked the same question.

By using enough of these questions across all forms, we can adjust each candidate’s raw scoreand provide each candidate with the score they would have earned had each candidate taken the exact same form.

Step Three: The process is completed by placing the equated scores on acommon scale. Scaling creates arange of scores which can be used to create a percentile rank forthe test as awhole,and for each section. Candidates scoring in the top percentile performed at the highest levelwhen compared to all other candidates.