CAT (COMMON ADMISSION TEST),DETAILS,HISTORY,SCORING

Common Admission Test  (CAT)

Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test given in India to test Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. It, according to Asian Survey of Exams, is considered to be toughest Exam in Asia and in India, followed by UPSC Civil Services Exam and IIT JEE. 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 from the academic year 2012-14

Scope

CAT is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management as a pre-requisite for admission to various management programmes of IIMs, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

There are many non-IIM institutions that have registered to avail the CAT scores to be used in their admission process. CAT score use is restricted only for admission to IIMs and non-IIM member institutions.

CAT is normally conducted every year during a 20 day testing window in the months of October and November. A candidate can appear for CAT 2011 only once during the 20-day testing window. The test score is valid for admission to the forthcoming academic year only.

Test Duration and Pattern

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 70 minutes. CAT Test Duration and Pattern

The pattern and duration of the test has seen considerable variations over the years.

Scoring

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.

Three scaled scores will be presented for each candidate: an overall scaled score and two separate scaled scores for each section. As the two sections evaluate 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.

History

Before 2009, CAT was a paper based test conducted on a single day for all candidates. The pattern, number of questions and duration have seen considerable variations over the years.

On 1 May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be a Computer Based Test starting from CAT 2009. The American firm Prometric has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the computer based test. The first computer based CAT was marred by technical snags. The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor. The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conflicer' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing severe slow down.

Other colleges

Many business schools in India other than the IIMs also use the CAT scores as a criterion for admission. As of 2011, CAT scores are used by approximately 145 institutes in India. These include management faculties in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) such as the Vinod Gupta School of Management in IIT Kharagpur, and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) such as National Institute of Technology Calicut, other national institutes such as the Indian Institute of Forest Management and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology and many other prominent colleges and universities.