The Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the most prominent and highly competitive entrance exams for admission into postgraduate management programs in India. It is conducted annually by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). CAT serves as a gateway to prestigious management institutes across the country, including the IIMs and numerous other renowned business schools. This article analyses the CAT Score Vs. Percentile 2023.
The CAT exam assesses candidates' aptitude in various areas such as Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA).
In this article, we will analyze the Score Vs percentile for the Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section in the CAT examination for 2023, focusing on the CAT Score Vs percentile 2023 trends.
What is the CAT scaled score?
The CAT exam is conducted in multiple sessions, typically three. As the question papers differ slightly between sessions, a normalized process is used to create a scaled score. This ensures fairness and equality when comparing performance. The scaled score may differ from the raw score in various ways depending on the difficulty of each section.
InsideIIM's CAT 2024 free mini-mock tests
Section Wise Questions Distribution and Marks
| Section | Number of Questions | Time Allotted (In Minutes) | Marks (+3 for every correct answer -1 for every incorrect answer) |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 40 | 66 |
Percentile Vs Marks Distribution (CAT 2023) (Quantitative Aptitude)
InsideIIM has conducted comprehensive data research to compile an extensive analysis of CAT 2023 QA scores VS. percentiles for the year 2023. The following table shows the comparison between the score and percentile for QA in CAT 2023.
cat 2023
| Percentile | Scaled Score |
| 100 | 49.46 |
| 99.94 | 41.87 |
| 99.9 | 37.83 |
| 99.5 | 31.39 |
| 99 | 28.18 |
| 98.5 | 25.73 |
| 98 | 24.31 |
| 97.5 | 23.71 |
| 97 | 22.7 |
| 96.5 | 21.69 |
| 96 | 21.41 |
| 95.5 | 20.44 |
| 95 | 19.68 |
| 94 | 17.91 |
| 93.5 | 17.66 |
| 93 | 17.54 |
| 92.5 | 15 |
| 90 | 13.63 |
| 80 | 9.2 |
CAT 2022 VS CAT 2023 QA: A Comparative Analysis
| Percentile | CAT 2022 Score | CAT 2023 Score |
| 100 | 57 | 49.46 |
| 99.9 | 47 | 37.83 |
| 99.8 | 43 | 34.96 |
| 99 | 33 | 28.18 |
| 98 | 29 | 24.31 |
| 95 | 22 | 19.68 |
| 90 | 17 | 13.63 |
CAT 2022 vs CAT 2023: Attempts Analysis
| Percentile | Attempts CAT 2022 | Attempts CAT 2023 |
| 100 | 19 | 16 |
| 99.9 | 16 | 12 |
| 99.8 | 14 | 11 |
| 99 | 11 | 9 |
| 98 | 10 | 8 |
| 95 | 8 | 6 |
| 90 | 6 | 4 |
Please note that the number of attempts has been rounded off, keeping scaling in mind and ignoring negative markings.
Verdict
In the quantitative aptitude section of CAT 2023, candidates found themselves attempting significantly fewer questions compared to CAT 2022. This trend signifies the challenging nature of the quantitative (QA) section in CAT 2023, believed by many to be one of the toughest in recent years. The data reveals that across various percentiles, candidates had to attempt comparatively fewer questions to score the same percentile as CAT 2022, indicative of the heightened difficulty level. For instance, candidates aiming for the 99.9th percentile attempted 12 questions in CAT 2023, compared to 16 questions in CAT 2022. Similarly, those targeting the 90th percentile attempted only 4 questions in CAT 2023, down from 6 questions in CAT 2022. This shift in attempt strategy reflects the increased difficulty and complexity of the quantitative section in CAT 2023, challenging candidates to optimize their attempts while maintaining accuracy amidst a rigorous test environment.
