Test takers claim discrepancies in CAT 2013 results

Around 3,000 test takers of the Common Admission Test 2013 (CAT 2013) have claimed that there are discrepancies in the CAT 2013 Results, which were declared on Tuesday, January 14, 2014.

Many CAT 2013 test takers have stated that their scores are radically different from what they had expected and particularly dismal in the verbal section. Moreover, some candidates who acquired higher scores have got lower normalized scores than candidates with lower scores.

The admission process of management institutes that accept candidates based on their CAT scores may be disrupted due to the widespread discontent, according to sources. The officials of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have a different opinion.

As per officials of the IIMs, every year there is student discontent after CAT Results are announced, due to the students’ opinion that the evaluation has been unfair. When talking about inconsistencies in different sections, IIM officials claimed that is a yearly phenomenon as well. Student aptitude in different sections varies and the examination Results reflect the same.

Moreover, candidates who have answered just one question correctly have acquired over 55 percentile scores, due to the marking pattern of the CAT examination. Candidates who scored less than 55 percentile possibly did so due to negative marking, the officials added.

A correct answer fetches three marks and an incorrect one Results in one mark less due to the system of negative marking in CAT. Unlike other management examinations such as the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), there is no system of answering specific number of questions in CAT.

Several students had also claimed that the Data Interpretation (DI) section on Day 10 held on Monday, October 28, 2013 had an incomplete question. The ratio data in the question with tables was not provided, which was very important to solve the question correctly. As per IIM officials, remedial measures were taken to ensure fair scores for all students.

The number of candidates who claim that there are discrepancies in the CAT 2013 Results is very high. However, re-evaluation of CAT examinations/results are not permitted. This year, the IIMs have also appointed the services of the government run agency - National Informatics Center (NIC) to ensure fairness and hence there will  be no re-evaluation, as per IIM Indore officials. It is to be noted that last year the scores of 80 candidates of CAT 2012 were found to be tampered with, leading to score-inflation, as per a probe.

CAT 2013 was conducted over a 20 day period from Wednesday, October 16 to Monday, November 11, 2013 in 40 cities in India. IIM Indore was the convener of CAT 2013.