JEE Main Results: Understanding ‘Normalisation Procedure Based On Percentile Score’

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has just released the results for JEE Main session 2 that was held in the month of April for more than 11 lakh students, and out of which more than 10 lakh candidates appeared for the national level entrance test for engineering undergraduate admission. In the JEE Main results announced today 56 candidates have received 100 NTA Score in Paper 1. However, what stands out in the process is the use of a unique method called the “Normalization procedure based on Percentile Score.”

But what exactly does this mean and how does it impact the candidates?

In essence, this normalization procedure was implemented to ensure fairness across different shifts of the exam. Since the JEE Main is conducted in multiple sessions, each with its own set of questions and difficulty levels, it’s crucial to standardize the scores to guarantee that no candidate is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged due to the variation in exam complexity.

The JEE Main session 2 was held in 10 shifts in five days starting from April 4 to April 9 this year.

Unlike conventional scoring systems where raw marks are disclosed, the NTA opts to reveal percentile scores. These percentile scores represent the normalized scores of candidates, which are used to create merit lists.

But how are these percentile scores calculated?

The process involves a comparison of the performance of candidates across different sessions. Essentially, the percentile score indicates the percentage of candidates who scored equal to or below a particular raw score in a specific session.

For instance, the candidate with the highest score in each shift is assigned a percentile of 100, ensuring that they stand at the top of their respective sessions. Meanwhile, the marks obtained by other candidates are converted into appropriate percentiles using a formula that takes into account the number of candidates with raw scores equal to or less than theirs, relative to the total number of candidates in the session.

“NTA Scores are normalized scores across multi-session papers and are based on the relative performance of all those who appeared for the examination in one session. The Percentile Score indicates the percentage of candidates that have scored EQUAL TO OR BELOW (same or lower raw scores) that particular Percentile in that examination. Therefore the topper (highest score) of each shift will get the same Percentile of 100 which is desirable. The marks obtained between the highest and lowest scores are also converted to appropriate Percentiles as per the following formula: “100 X Number of candidates who appeared in the ‘Session’ with raw score EQUAL TO OR LESS than the candidate” divided by “Total number of the candidates who appeared in the ‘Session.’”,” the NTA said in a statement.