Equi-Percentile Method In Use For Decades, Nothing Unfair: UGC Chief On Normalisation In CUET

The equi-percentile method used for score normalization in CUET-UG has been a globally accepted practice for many years, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said.

UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar.

The equi-percentile method used for score normalization in CUET-UG has been a globally accepted practice for many years and this mechanism is considered fair and impartial, eliminating the influence of luck, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said. The results for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG, which serves as the entry point for undergraduate admissions in more than 200 universities, were declared on Saturday. However, some candidates have expressed concerns about their scores being impacted by the normalization process, as reported by PTI.

"First, we must remember that we were required to conduct CUET in multiple shifts in a given subject due to the large number of students participating in the test. For example, if the test is in economics, NTA experts prepare multiple economics papers for use in different shifts. Despite our best efforts, the difficulty level of each paper will slightly differ from the other. Therefore, one needs to use normalised scores instead of scores obtained by a student," Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.

"For this purpose, we use a scientific method called the equi-percentile method for normalizing the difficulty level across different shifts. In the process, the normalized scores for some students will be less than the obtained score; for others, it may increase. This method has been in vogue for decades globally and is a statistical procedure for establishing correspondence between scores on different tests. Therefore, there is no luck or unfairness. Students need not worry about it," he added.

The CUET-UG stands as the second-largest entrance exam in the country concerning the number of applicants. For this year's examination, it was conducted in nine phases, spanning from May 21 to July 5. In contrast to the previous year, the exam was conducted in three shifts.

The equi-percentile method employed in the CUET-UG involves calculating the percentile for each candidate based on their raw marks in comparison to the raw marks of others within the same session. This process is repeated across multiple days and sessions for the same subject. The percentiles are subsequently equated and transformed into normalized marks. Sessions with fewer candidates are merged with bigger sessions, ensuring the comparability of candidates' performance across sessions.

The normalized marks obtained through the equi-percentile method can then be utilized in the same manner as raw marks from a conventional single-session examination. 

"Therefore, in a particular university, if the raw marks of the skill component has certain weightage it can be added to the remaining weightage of the normalized marks to prepare the rank list," Kumar said.