JEE Main 2025 Normalization Process & Percentile Calculation Explained
The JEE Main 2025 exam is conducted in multiple shifts, which means different students get different question papers with varying difficulty levels. To ensure fairness in ranking, NTA follows a normalization process to calculate the percentile scores.
This article will cover:
✅ What is the JEE Main 2025 normalization process?
✅ How does NTA calculate percentile scores?
✅ Why is normalization necessary for JEE Main?
✅ Difference between percentile score and raw marks
📌 What is the JEE Main 2025 Normalization Process?
The JEE Main percentile score is NOT the same as the percentage of marks obtained. Instead, it indicates a candidate’s performance relative to others.
How Does Normalization Work?
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Since JEE Main is conducted in multiple shifts, difficulty levels may vary.
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NTA uses a statistical formula to normalize scores across different shifts.
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The highest scorer of each session gets a percentile score of 100.
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Percentiles are calculated separately for each subject (Physics, Chemistry, and Math) and overall.
📌 Formula for JEE Main 2025 Percentile Calculation
NTA uses the following formula to calculate the percentile score:
Percentile=(Total candidates in session with raw score ≤ your raw scoreTotal candidates in that session)×100\text{Percentile} = \left(\frac{\text{Total candidates in session with raw score ≤ your raw score}}{\text{Total candidates in that session}}\right) \times 100
📊 Example Calculation:
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👨🎓 Total candidates in a shift: 50,000
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🎯 Your rank in that shift: 5,000
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🔢 Your percentile score:
(50,000−5,00050,000)×100=90%\left(\frac{50,000 – 5,000}{50,000}\right) \times 100 = 90\%
📌 A percentile score of 90 means that 90% of candidates in that session scored equal to or less than you.
📌 Why is Normalization Necessary in JEE Main?
🔹 Fair Ranking System: Since difficulty levels may vary across shifts, normalization ensures fair evaluation.
🔹 Uniformity in Selection: The process ensures that no candidate gets an unfair advantage.
🔹 Accurate Cut-off Determination: The cut-off scores for JEE Advanced and NIT admissions depend on normalized percentiles, not raw scores.
📌 Difference Between Percentile Score & Raw Marks
| Aspect | Raw Marks | Percentile Score |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Total marks obtained out of 300 | Relative ranking compared to other students |
| How it’s Calculated | Based on correct & incorrect answers | Normalized using a statistical formula |
| Used for? | Understanding individual performance | Determining All India Rank (AIR) |
| Can it change? | No | Yes (depends on total candidates) |
📌 Example: Two students getting the same raw marks may have different percentiles depending on the difficulty of their respective shifts.
