The much awaited process of equating and normalization of scores of CAT 2014 has been announced by the CAT centre 2014. The declared process is more or less on the same lines.
The process of normalization of scores in earlier CAT exams was slightly different and was not much publicized due to which candidates used to remain confused about the total transparency of equating and normalization of scores process. A few of the court cases are still pending for disposal before the courts of Indore on this issue. However, CAT Centre 2014 has declared the process along with the various key components of the said process to be adopted for score normalization in CAT 2014.
Process similar to GATE
According to CAT Centre 2014 “The process of Normalization is an established practice for comparing candidate scores across multiple Forms and is similar to those being adopted in other large educational selection tests conducted in India such as Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).”
Marking system in CAT 2014
Marking system in CAT 2014 will remain the same as in earlier CAT exams. 3 points will be awarded for each correct answer. 1 point will be deducted for each wrong answer. There is no penalty for questions that are left unanswered.
Different test forms across 4 sessions
CAT 2014 has also announced that ‘CAT 2014 shall involve administering a different Form of the Test across each of the 4 different Test Sessions.’
Normalization process to be transparent
IIMs declare “In order to ensure fairness and equity in comparison of performances of the candidates across different test sessions, the scores of the candidates shall be subjected to a process of Normalization. The Normalization process to be implemented shall adjust for location and scale differences of score distributions across different forms and the scaled scores obtained by this process shall be converted into percentiles for purposes of shortlisting.
Scaled scores to be published
For purposes of reporting, Scaled Scores for each Section (Section I: Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, Section II: Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning) and Total along with the Percentile shall be published.
What has not been announced?
CAT centre 2014 has refrained from declaring the maximum percentile score out of which the scaled score would be awarded. The scores in earlier CAT exams were awarded out of 450 but it may not be possible in CAT 2014 as the number of questions has increased from 60 to 100, hence the maximum score that used to be 180 ( 3 marks per question) for 60 correct answers, will surely increase beyond this point. It would imply while maximum percentile would be scaled to the highest point, the percentile scores would be awarded out of a higher maximum marks than earlier maximum percentile score. This clarity is yet to come from CAT Centre 2014.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2014 scoring pattern
