CAT (I.I.M)

Eligibility

The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Differently Abled (DA)categories], awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.



The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be calculated based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case the candidates are awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the conversion of grades/CGPA to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the university/ institution from where they have obtained the bachelor's degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the result with 100.



Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process, the details of which are provided at Selection Process of IIMs.




CAT Exams: Development and Scoring

Development :
The CAT test development process was conducted in alignment with the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. The exam was designed with three sections: (1) Verbal Ability, (2) Quantitative Ability, and (3) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. These three sections are consistent with the knowledge domains historically assessed by the IIM and are also aligned with the content areas covered in equivalent global admission examinations that measure performance along similar scales.

Content of the examination was developed and confirmed by individuals with high levels of expertise in each of three content domains (Verbal, Quantitative, and Data Interpretation). Post-administration analysis was conducted by credentialed psychometricians to confirm the validity of the examination scores and to ensure that every candidates was provided a fair and equal opportunity to display their knowledge.

Scoring :

Prometric employed an industry-standard, psychometrically-sound approach to the scoring process for all IIM candidates. The three-step process is outlined here and is supported by the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness.

Step 1: Raw Score is Calculated
Your raw scores are calculated for each section based on the number of questions you answered correctly, incorrectly, or that you omitted.


Correct Answer Incorrect Answer Omitted
+3 points for questions you answered correctly -1 point subtracted for questions you answered incorrectly 0 points subtracted for questions you did not answer



This scoring methodology ensures that candidates are only awarded points for what they know. Candidates are not awarded inappropriate points for random guessing. This is a standard process in the testing industry and is a methodology employed in scoring similar admissions tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Step 2: Raw Score is “Equated”

Equating is a statistical process used to adjust scores on two or more alternate forms of an assessment so that the scores may be used interchangeably. Industry standard processes were used for equating, such as those outlined within the ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness.

Step3: Equated Raw Score is “Scaled”

In order to ensure appropriate interpretation of an equated raw score, the scores must be placed on a common scale or metric. A linear transformation was used for this scaling process, which is an industry standard practice (Kolen & Brennan, 2004).

The IIM scaling model is as follows:

Section Scores = (Mean of 40 and Standard deviation of 24) 0-150
Total Exam Score = (Summation of three section scores) 0-450

Four scaled scores are presented for each candidate: an overall scaled score and three separate scaled scores for each section. As the three sections evaluate three distinct sets of knowledge and skills, scores do not correlate across sections. A high score in one section does not guarantee a high score in another section. Percentile rankings are provided for each individual section as well as for the overall exam score.