CAT 2016 official Mock test published on October 25 by IIM Bangalore reveals that the exam is more skewed towards Engineers despite the claims by IIMs that all efforts are taken by them to increase the candidates from different academic disciplines.
19 Non-MCQs instead of 28
CAT 2016 proposes to place 19 Non-MCQs in the exam reducing their number from 28 in CAT 2015. One of the important things to note is that IIM Bangalore till the publication of CAT 2016 Mock test on website, did not reveal the overall number of questions or their sectional composition divided between MCQs and Non-MCQs, although CAT 2016 convener Prof Rajendra K Bandi, faculty at IIM Bangalore continued to claim that the exam will provide level playing field for the candidates coming from all disciplines.
Responding to MBAUniverse.com query on how does CAT 2016 aim to further improve the academic and gender diversity in IIM classrooms in 2017 given the fact that the exam structure and content remain the same, Prof Rajendra K Bandi responded “CAT aims to ensure that questions in the test, do not give any specific advantage to candidates from any specific academic background or for a particular gender. Every question is carefully reviewed to ensure that it is academic and gender neutral.”
However, now it appears that CAT 2016 test takers from non-engineering background might have a tough time with the reduced number of Non-MCQs and would be open to higher deduction of marks due to negative marking on MCQs in Quant and DILR sections which will have fewer number of Non-MCQ type questions than last year. In case the number of Non-MCQs is reduced as revealed in the CAT 2016 official Mock test, it may benefit the candidates coming from engineering back ground.
CAT 2016: May prove difficult for Non-engineers
There were 28 Non-MCQs in 2015 CAT Mock published by IIM Ahmedabad. This number has been reduced to only 19 Non-MCQs in CAT 2016 Mock published by IIM Bangalore. In fact introduction of Non-MCQs was welcome in CAT 2015 especially in the Quant and DILR section as they used to prove a major hindrance for non-engineers in scoring high.
Surprisingly, while the number of Non-MCQs in VARC section has been kept at the same level as was in 2015, the number of Non-MCQs in Quant and DILR sections has been reduced drastically.
Since the official mock is the reflection of correct overall and sectional composition and division of CAT 2016 questions into MCQs & Non-MCQs, one can draw the conclusion about the shape and style of CAT 2016 exam, going to be held on December 4, 2016.
MCQs & Non-MCQs in CAT 2016 & CAT 2015
Following is the sectional composition of the questions – proposed in CAT 2016 and that appeared in CAT 2015-
| Section |
CAT 2016 |
CAT 2015 |
|
VARC |
Non-MCQs-10; MCQs-24 |
Non-MCQs-10; MCQs-24 |
|
DILR |
Non-MCQs- 4; MCQs-28 |
Non-MCQs- 8; MCQs-24 |
|
QUANT |
Non-MCQs- 5; MCQs-29 |
Non-MCQs-10; MCQs-24 |
The comparative table reflects that fewer Non-MCQs are expected in CAT 2016. Deviating from the past many years exam pattern, CAT 2016 Mock Test released officially by IIM Bangalore contains only 19 Non-MCQs as compared to last year CAT mock test which had 28 Non-MCQs. The number of Non-MCQ type questions present in the CAT 2016 official Mock are only 19 spread over 3 sections. While VARC contains 10 Non-MCQs, DILR only 4 Non-MCQs and Quant only 5 Non-MCQs.
If the same pattern is followed on the CAT 2016 exam day on December 4, IIM Bangalore’s vision to improve the number of Non-engineers in IIM Class rooms in 2017 may not materialize. Accordingly, it is expected that not fewer than 28 Non-MCQs would appear in the CAT 2016 exam.
Since attempting the Non-MCQs are not fraught with the risk of carrying negative marking with them, unless the number of Non-MCQs is increased in CAT 2016 especially in Quant and DILR sections, these sections may become Achilles’ heel for non-engineering graduates.
Few MCQs without negative marking?
CAT 2016 Mock test contains 5 Non-MCQs and 5 MCQs without negative marking in Quant section. Does it mean that a few MCQ type questions in Quant and DILR sections in CAT 2016 will also have ‘No Negative Marking’ like Non-MCQs or it is a printing mistake by IIM Bangalore?
Neither CAT 2016 Mock test nor IIM Bangalore has clarified on this point. On the contrary, the CAT 2016 Press release and FAQs have clearly mentioned that all MCQs will carry negative marking of 1/3 meaning 1 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer on MCQs.
In case CAT 2016 chooses to place same number of Non-MCQs in the exam as appeared in Mock test, the test might be marked with the skewness towards engineering back ground candidates.
The key reason to this assumption is that while VARC section which is considered a difficult section for Engineers contains 10 Non-MCQs, the DILR section which is favourite for engineers has only 4 Non-MCQs and that too in the Logical Reasoning part of this section. It means that CAT 2016 could be skewed more towards engineers than offering level playing field to non-engineers.
Quant section in CAT 2016 official Mock test contains only 5 Non MCQs as against 10 which were present in previous year CAT exam. Quant is considered as a difficult section for Non-engineers and this was the reason that IIM Ahmedabad last year placed 10 Non-MCQs in Quant section, so that non-engineers wouldn’t lose their marks due to negative marking for wrong answers. It may be noted that Non-MCQs do not carry the penalty of negative marking in CAT 2016.
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Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2016 exam pattern
