CAT 2016: Score scaling and normalization formula decoded; check your score & explore chances to get desired IIM

1.95 lakh test takers in 2 sessions of CAT 2016 held on December 4, 2016 are now waiting to know the scores they would get when the result would be declared in 2nd week of January 2017. No doubt a higher percentile in CAT 2016 will brighten your chances to get shortlisted by top rated IIMs namely IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta.

MBAUniverse.com has launched the CAT 2016 percentile predictor that would lead you to your nearest percentile score expected in CAT 2016 exam. To know how much you would score in CAT 2016 exam visit India’s most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.

Nonetheless test takers who after appearing in CAT 2016 exam on December 4 are still confused although CAT 2016 website claims to have the most transparent process on score normalization and calculation of percentile. A bit of information on score normalization process in CAT 2016 is also available on CAT website.

The process claims to focus on Fairness, Equity and comparison of performances across both the test sessions in CAT 2016. But the Normalization process on CAT website has only scanty details which may not bring home the clear picture of percentile calculation formula in CAT 2016.

Scoring process
CAT Centre 2016 declares “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.”

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CAT 2016 follows GATE pattern
On the question of transparency of normalization process across the multiple sessions CAT Centre 2016 states “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).”

Now to understand the score normalization process in CAT 2016, you are supposed to understand first the GATE process which stands a bit changed. Those appearing in GATE or have understood the process can understand it better but for those who are unaware about the process have to understand the GATE process first. In fact the commerce, science, medical, paramedical and graduates in Humanities who appeared in CAT 2016 still remain oblivious of the percentile calculation formula in CAT 2016.

GATE normalization process
During 2015, the CE, CS, EC, EE and ME examinations are conducted  in multiple sessions. Suitable normalization process is therefore applied to take into account any variation in the difficulty levels of the question sets across the different sessions. The normalization is done based on the fundamental assumption that "in all multi-session GATE papers, the distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the sessions".+

According to the GATE committee, this assumption is justified since "the number of candidates appearing in multi-session subjects in GATE 2015 is large and the procedure of allocation of session to candidates is random. Further it is also ensured that for the same multi-session subject, the number of candidates allotted in each session is of the same order of magnitude."

What is GATE formula? Check
Based on the above the committee arrived at the following formula for calculating the normalized marks, for CE, CS, EC, EE and ME subjects. From GATE 2014 onward (and year 2014-15 of the 2-year validity period of GATE 2013 score), a candidate's GATE score is computed by the following new formula.

where, S = Score (normalized) of a candidate; M = Marks obtained by a candidate ("normalized marks" in case of multiple-session subjects CE, CS, EC, EE and ME); Mq = Qualifying marks for general category candidates in that subject (usually 25 or μ + σ, whichever is higher); μ = Average (i.e. arithmetic mean) of marks of all candidates in that subject; σ = Standard deviation of marks of all candidates in that subject; Mt = Average marks of top 0.1 % candidates (for subjects with 10000 or more appeared candidates) or top 10 candidates (for subjects with less than 10000 appeared candidates); St = 900 = Score assigned to Mt;   Sq = 350 = Score assigned to Mq.

Percentile calculation:
A candidate's percentile denotes the percentage of candidates scoring lower than that particular candidate. It is calculated as: Percentile = ( 1 - All India rank( No. of candidates in that subject) x 100%

Application of formula in CAT 2016
The formula to calculate the percentile in CAT 2015 can be devised.  At MBAUniverse.com experts have been working and have decoded the pattern of normalization and calculation of percentile in CAT 2015. The score normalization process formula as devised by the experts would be as follows-
Normalized mark (︿Mij) of jth candidate in ith slot, is given by
︿Mij = Mgt - MgqMti - Miq ( Mij - Miq ) + Mgq
where,
Mij is the actual marks obtained by the jth candidate in the ith slot,
Mgt is the average marks of the top 0.1 % candidates in all slots,
Mgq is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates in all slots,
Mti is the average of marks of top 0.1 % candidates in the ith slot,
Miq is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates in the ith slot.

Application of Formula in CAT 2016- Example
Total Test takers = 2,00,000
slots = 2
Test takers in each slot = 1,00,000     [ .1% of it = 100]

Mij  = 170 out of 300               ( is the actual marks obtained by the jth candidate in   the 2nd slot)
Mgt = [195 + 190 ]/2 = 192      ( is the average marks of the top 0.1 % candidates of both the slots)

here, 195  and 190 are the average of the top .1% aspirants of all slots

Mgq =  112                 (is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates in both the slots)
Mti    =  190               (is the average of marks of top 0.1 % candidates in   the 2nd slot)
Miq    = 110                (is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates in the 2nd slot.)

So, according to the given formula, normalized score = (192-112)(170-110)/(190-110) + 112 = 172

99.5 Percentile with 172 score
Score of 172 could fetch you a percentile of 99.5 while the score of 160 in 2nd slot of CAT 2016 exam could award you 99 percentile making you eligible to get a call from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore or Calcutta.

On the similar note and going by the relative difficulty level across the both sections in CAT 2016 examination, it is expected that CAT 2016 takers could score a higher percentile with the same attempts than they could score in earlier CAT exams.

The table below elaborates how much percentile you can score with relative raw score in each section and which IIM will shortlist you depending upon your academic profile, diversity and work experience

In CAT 2016 sections were found moderate and more balanced. More options to attempt the questions were available. A candidate could crack 70 correct out of 100 in CAT 2016 but it was much difficult to crack 35 correct out of 60 in earlier CAT exams despite the fact that more time per question to solve was available in earlier CAT exams.

Besides with the introduction of  Non-MCQ type questions without any penalty for wrong answers, it is expected that the candidates would score high and would record higher percentile.

Earlier all the questions used to be of  MCQ type and due to negative marking system the percentile got dipped low in earlier CAT exams. In CAT 2016 with more questions available most of the candidates who refrained from attempting doubtful and difficult type of questions can expect a high percentile.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2016