In India, one of the most popular MBA entry tests is the Common Admission Test (CAT). More than 2 lakh people register for this national management entrance test each year. The number is almost 2.31 lakhs this year. As a result, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) that administer the CAT must make sure that it is administered in a fair manner and that no candidate receives an unfair advantage or disadvantage during the test. One such process used by IIMs is the CAT Normalization Process.
The CAT normalization process is examined below. Applicants who are considering taking the CAT will be able to gain an understanding of how the test's results are determined and how the candidates' raw scores are normalized. Each candidate should be aware of the normalization procedure since CAT results may only be taken into account for admission to MBA programs at Indian universities once the procedure has been followed.
What is the CAT Normalisation?
In a summary, it is a method for objectively determining the CAT percentile. IIMs hold the Common Admission Test (CAT), a national-level MBA entrance exam, to select applicants for MBA admissions to top business schools including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Indore, FMS Delhi, XIMB, and IIM Bangalore. This year, the CAT will take place over the course of three slots, with the authority managing the question papers for all three sessions. It's because the difficulty level of the CAT Question Papers could vary. To evaluate each candidate's performance on a single scale, the CAT Normalization Process is used. By doing this, the examination authority ensures that each applicant is judged fairly.
CAT 2023 Important Dates
See the important dates for CAT 2023 as listed by the conducting organization, IIM Lucknow. The table below provides the schedule for CAT 2023..
Event | Date |
CAT 2023 Exam Date | 26th November 2023 |
CAT Result Date | Second Week of January 2024 (Tentative) |
The two most important words, scaled score and percentile score, must be understood by the candidates before they can comprehend the CAT Normalization Process 2023.
What is the scaled score in CAT?
Calculating the scores for each exam segment is referred to as the "scaled score" in the CAT. It is a statistical process that modifies the findings of two or more different assessment forms so that the results may be compared, and it is based on the idea of the CAT Normalization Process. Candidates who will be taking the forthcoming test need to carefully review and prepare the CAT Syllabus. It will enable students to prepare thoroughly for the CAT for all of the chapters and topics.
What is a Percentile Score?
The result of turning test results into percentile ratings based on the applicants' relative performance is the CAT Percentile. The CAT percentile displays the percentage of test takers who scored the same or lower than you. The CAT Exam includes percentile calculation, much like many competitive exams. The ability to follow their aspiration of enrolling in the top management colleges depends on achieving a high percentile.
What is the CAT Normalisation Process?
A candidate's Raw Scores, which are solely based on the number of right answers and the number of incorrect ones in the CAT test, are determined after they have attempted the CAT question paper.
In order to determine the raw score, a candidate must know:
1. CAT Marking Scheme (+3, -1)
2. Number of Correct Answers
3. Number of Incorrect Answers
The following formula can be used to determine CAT raw scores.
Raw Score = 3 x (No. of Correct Answers) - 1 x (No. of Incorrect Answers)
Once the raw scores have been determined, the normalization procedure may be used to obtain the candidate's CAT scaled score. The scaled scores of a candidate are included in the CAT scorecard that is made public following the announcement of CAT Results. The CAT scaled scores are also used to compute the percentile for the CAT, whether it be overall or section-wise.
It is preferable to break the procedure down into many phases and comprehend each variable that is utilized in the calculation in order to more readily comprehend the normalization of CAT scores. Let's start with the processes for calculating the CAT scaled score, and then we'll look at the formula. These procedures are used section-by-section, meaning that while computing scaled scores, only one section's raw values are taken into account at a time.
Step1: The mean (Average) and standard deviation (SD) of the candidates' raw scores from the first shift are calculated and added.
| M1 = Mean of 1st Shift + SD of 1st Shift |
Step 2: For applicants who appeared in the second shift, the mean and standard deviation of their raw scores are calculated and added.
| M 2 = Mean of 2nd Shift + SD of 1st Shift |
Step 3: For applicants who appeared in the third shift, the mean and standard deviation of their raw scores are calculated and added.
| M 3 = Mean of 3rd Shift + SD of 1st Shift |
Step 4: For applicants who appeared in all the three shifts, the mean and standard deviation of their raw scores are calculated and added.
| M = Mean of all the three Shifts + SD of all the three Shifts |
Step 5: The top 0.1% of applicants who appeared in the first shift have their raw scores averaged out.
| Let this be M1.01 |
Step 6: The top 0.1% of applicants who appeared in the second shift have their raw scores averaged out.
| Let this be M2.01 |
Step 7: The top 0.1% of applicants who appeared in the third shift have their raw scores averaged out.
| Let this be M3.01 |
Step 8: The top 0.1% of applicants who appeared in the both sections have their raw scores averaged out.
| Let this be M0.1 |
Step 9: The scaled score of a candidate is calculated using the formula below. Please keep in mind that the calculation provided is for a candidate who appeared for the first shift.
| Scaled Score = M + {(R - M1) x (M0.1 - M) / (M1.01 - M1)} |
To determine a candidate's scaled score for the other two shifts, the relevant variables in this formula must be adjusted appropriately. Here, R stands for the candidate's raw score, from which the scaled score is being derived.
| Overall Scaled Score = Scaled Score in DILR + Scaled Score in QA + Scaled Score in VARC |
Percentile Calculation
A CAT percentile displays the proportion of applicants who scored lower than you on the CAT exam. It is crucial to understand two factors before attempting to determine the CAT percentile:
- Your CAT score (R)
- Total number of applicants that participated in the CAT (N)
The CAT 2022 overall and sectional percentile scores for a candidate are calculated using the procedures described below. The percentile score calculating process is illustrated using the QA section as an example.
Step 1: The total number of applicants (N) for the CAT is considered. The morning, afternoon, and evening sessions are included.
Step 2: Based on the computed scores received in the QA portion, a rank (r) is allocated to each applicant who took the CAT 2022 exam. When two or more applicants receive equal scaled scores in the QA section, identical rankings are provided to all of them.
Consider the scenario where the top two applicants in the QA portion each received the same scaled score. In this instance, a rank of 1 is given to both applicants. Additionally, a rank of 3 is given to the candidate(s) who received the second-highest scaled score in the QA section, and so on.
Step 3: In the QA portion, the candidate's percentile score (P) is determined by combining their rank (r). The general formula is given below:
| P = [(N-r) N] 100 |