JEE Main Percentile Scores 2026 for Session 1 Improve due to Dropped Questions: But there's a catch
Even though NTA implements normalization process, JEE Main 2026 Session 1 takers witnessed a rise in percentile scores, considering the dropped questions and bonus marks aspect. However, not all shift test takers might witness a rise.
CollegeDekho News Desk, New Delhi:The National Testing Agency announced theJEE Main Session 1 result 2026on February 16, and thefinal answer key has 9 dropped questionsfor which bonus marks shall be awarded. The test takers of the January 22 Shift 2 got a bonus mark of 12, which will eventually increase percentile scores. Students who opted right or wrong option for these dropped questions do not matter because NTA has dropped these questions from the evaluation. On the other hand, test takers of January 23 - Shift 2 got a bonus mark of 8, and they might see a sharp rise in percentile scores as well. The dropped questions will have adirect impact on percentile scores, but there is definetly a catch.
Do January 22 Shift 2 and January 23 Shift 2 Test Takers witness a sharp increase in JEE Main Percentile Score?
- There is a clear probability that the test takers of these two shifts might witness a rise in percentile scores
- For example, If student A and B gave the wrong answer for any of these dropped questions, they might get a direct 4 marks for each dropped question. The reason being NTA awards the bonus marks.
- However, there is a catch here. NTA implementes nromalization process to ensure fair justice to all shift test takers, and it normalizes the percentile scores based on the highest percentile scored in each shift vs the average percentile scored vs the lowest percentile scored. Therefore, the test takers might not witness a sharp rise, but a marginal rise can be possible
- For example, if a test taker of January 22 - Shift 2 scored 150 marks as per the preliminary answer key. This student might be getting 162 marks as per the final answer key. The percentile score might increase by 0.5 to 0.9 points, which will have a direct impact on JEE Mains rank. However, as per the normalization policy, a 0.3 - 0.5 rise is expected instead of a 0.5 to 0.9 point rise. Test takers will get a clear picture if they compare marks scored in result vs marks scored during preliminary key
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