Common Admission Test

Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test given in India to test Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) use the test as an important component in selecting students for the business administration programs.[1] The test is conducted every year by one of the IIM's based on a policy of rotation. In August 2011 it was announced that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) would use CAT, instead of the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), as part of the student selection process of their MBA and Masters in Management programmes

There will be two separately timed sections in the test. Once a section ends, candidates can no longer go back to it. The sections are (a) Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (b) Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning. Each of the sections will have 30 questions with a duration of 1 hour and 10 minutes. Including a 15-minute tutorial before the start of the test which candidates are advised to go through, the total duration of the test will be 2 hours and 35 minutes

The CAT, like virtually all large-scale exams, utilises multiple forms, or versions, of the test. Hence there are two types of scores involved viz. raw score and scaled score.

The raw score is calculated for each section based on the number of questions one answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted. Candidates are given +3 points for each correct answer and -1 point for each incorrect answer. There are no points for questions that are not answered. The raw scores are then adjusted, as necessary, through a process called equating. Equated raw scores are then placed on a common scale or metric to ensure appropriate interpretation of the scores. This process is called scaling

Useful Tips during the Test
Tutorial
through the 15-minute tutorial prior to the start of the test which will
emonstrate the following:
ating around the screen – question number, on-screen timer, Next, Previous, Mark and
how to identify which questions are complete, marked or incomplete; and
hat the question number appears at the top centre of the screen and the timer
tions – A, B, C and D. Read the question on the screen and click on the
ircle next to your selected answer. You can change their answer simply by clicking on any other
answer bu de that you would prefer not to answer that
ur response is correct, you may ‘mark’
and return to review it later. Simply click on the ‘Mark’ button on the bottom of the screen. Once
so you know that it has been marked successfully. To unmark it,
Candidates are advised to go
d•
Navig
Review buttons
• Reviewing questions –
how to go directly to a specific question or review all marked or incomplete questions
• You will notice t
appears on the top right
Selecting / de-selecting answers
Every question will have 4 op
c
circle. If you’ve already selected an t later deci
question, all you need to do is click on the clicked circle again.
Marking questions for review
If you are unable to answer a particular question or unsure if yo
it
clicked, the button changes to red
click the red ‘Marked’ button. Note that if you have selected an answer, it will be evaluated even if it
remains ‘Marked’ when you end the test. The ‘Mark’ feature only serves as a reminder to you.
Reviewing questions
At any time during the test, you can go to the review screen to see which questions you have
completed, marked, or are incomplete. Click on the ‘Review’ button on the bottom of any question
screen to do so. The review screen shows a list of all the questions, along with a symbol next to it
which indicates if it is marked, complete or incomplete. From here, you can double-click on a particular
question to go directly to it, or select ‘Review Incomplete’ or ‘Review Marked’ from the bottom of the
screen. Selecting ‘Review Incomplete’ or ‘Review Marked’ takes you to the first ‘Incomplete’ or
‘Marked’ question respectively.
Time management
The on-screen timer is found on the top right corner of every screen. This counts down from 1 hour
and 10 minutes for each section so what you see is the time remaining for you to complete that
section. For example, 00:35:48 means the time remaining is 35 minutes and 48 seconds to complete
that section. Do check th time carefully to ensure you have
sufficient time to attempt all has ended, you will no longer
be able to go back to it.
Final checks
Allow some time to do final che
Ending the test (only available in Section 2)
There will be no option to end the first section of the test before the full duration of 1 hour 10 mins is
up. In the second section, if you are ready to end your test even if there is still time remaining (you
would not be allowed to go out of the test centre until the test is over), click on ‘Quit Test’ at the bottom
of the screen. If you have questions that are incomplete, you will be prompted by a pop-up box. Click
‘No’ to return to the test