CAT 2025 Score Calculation, Marking Scheme, Percentile, and Raw vs Scaled Score Explained

Ans. The CAT score is the primary criterion for shortlisting candidates for WAT/PI rounds at IIMs. Only scaled scores and percentiles (after normalization) are considered, not raw marks.

Key points:

• Scaled scores are used to rank candidates across slots.
• Percentiles determine relative standing among all test-takers.
• Higher percentiles improve chances for top IIMs; sectional performance can influence tie-breaks.

Ans. Not necessarily. In CAT 2025, the percentile depends on scaled scores, which adjust raw scores across slots. Even if a candidate has a high raw score in an easier slot, normalization might slightly reduce their scaled score.

• Normalization ensures fairness across slot difficulties.
• Percentile is relative, not absolute; your rank matters more than raw marks.
• Section-wise scoring can affect final percentile and tie-breaks.

Ans. Yes, candidates can estimate their CAT percentile manually using raw scores, marking scheme, and expected normalization, though exact percentiles are only available after official results.

Steps for manual calculation:

• Compute raw scores: +3 for correct MCQ, –1 for incorrect MCQ, +3 for TITA.
• Apply sectional projections to estimate scaled scores.
• Sum scaled scores to get composite score.
• Use approximate percentile formula

Ans. CAT 2025 is conducted in multiple slots, and the difficulty may vary slightly across slots. Scaling ensures that candidates in a tougher slot are not disadvantaged.

Key points:

• Each slot’s raw scores are adjusted using mean and standard deviation.
• Slot-wise scaling ensures fairness in sectional and overall scores.
• After scaling, scores from all slots are comparable for percentile calculation.

Ans. Normalization adjusts raw scores to produce scaled scores, which then determine the percentile. A candidate’s relative performance is evaluated after accounting for slot difficulty.

• Easier slots may see slight downward adjustments, tougher slots may get upward boosts.
• Percentile reflects relative rank among all candidates across slots.
• High raw score in an easy slot may not always translate to top percentile.

Ans. Yes. After slot-wise normalization, a candidate’s scaled score can be higher or lower than their raw score, depending on slot difficulty and overall performance distribution.

Examples:

• Candidate in a tougher slot with raw 80 may get scaled 90.
• Candidate in an easier slot with raw 90 may get scaled 85.
• Normalization ensures fair comparison across all three sections and slots.

Ans. The percentile measures relative performance, whereas the raw score is just the total marks obtained. Two candidates with the same raw score can have different percentiles due to slot difficulty and normalization.

• Raw score = total marks obtained (before scaling).
• Percentile = position relative to all candidates:
• High raw score does not always guarantee a high percentile.

Ans. Yes. If two candidates have identical scaled scores, tie-break rules are applied to assign ranks, which then determine the percentile.

Tie-break order (2025):

• Higher scaled score in VARC
• Then higher in DILR
• Then higher in QA
• If still tied, older candidate gets higher rank

Ans. Projected percentiles are estimates, useful for planning, but actual percentiles may vary depending on slot difficulty, normalization, and overall candidate performance.

Considerations for accuracy:

• Slot difficulty may shift scaled score thresholds.
• Normalization can slightly increase or decrease projected percentiles.
• Use projections as guidelines, not absolute values.

Ans. Normalization ensures fair comparison of scores across multiple slots. Since CAT is conducted in different sessions, the difficulty of questions can vary slightly. Normalization adjusts raw scores to reflect this, producing scaled scores that are comparable across all slots.

Ans. The normalization process uses statistical adjustments based on each slot’s performance:

• Calculate mean and standard deviation of raw scores for each section and slot.
• Adjust scores so that the average difficulty is aligned across slots.
• Produce sectional scaled scores, which are then summed for the composite scaled score.

Ans. Yes. Percentiles are calculated from composite scaled scores, not raw scores. Slot-wise normalization ensures that a candidate’s percentile reflects their relative performance among all test-takers, making it fair even if they appeared in a tougher or easier slot.

Ans. CAT score equating is the process of adjusting scores across different slots to ensure fairness. Since question difficulty may vary slightly in multiple slots, equating ensures that all candidates are ranked on a comparable scale.

Ans. If two or more candidates have the same composite scaled score, tie-break rules are applied in the following order:

• Higher scaled score in VARC
• Then a higher scaled score in DILR
• Then a higher scaled score in QA
• If still tied, the older candidate gets the preference

Ans. Yes. Percentile is calculated based on unique ranks, so tie-breaking directly affects the relative ranking. Candidates with the same scaled score may have different percentiles after applying tie-break rules.

Ans. In CAT 2025, marks are awarded based on question type. This raw score forms the basis for scaled scores and percentile calculation.

• MCQs: +3 for correct, –1 for incorrect
• TITA / Non-MCQ: +3 for correct, 0 for incorrect or unattempted

Ans. No. TITA / non-MCQ questions do not carry negative marking. Candidates can attempt these without worrying about losing marks for incorrect answers, which encourages accuracy-focused attempts.

Ans. The total raw marks in CAT 2025 are 204, divided by sections as follows: