Common Admission Test, more commonly know as CAT, is an entrance exam for admission into the post graduate and fellowship programmes offered by various management institutions across India. Among these institutes, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are the most prestigious institutes who offer post graduate and fellowship programmes. CAT percentile is also considered by many other B-schools for short listing the candidates for Group Discussion (GD) and Placement interview (PI). Typically the admission to most of the B-schools in India is done in three different phases. The first would be the entrance exam, then GD and PI. Nearly 2 lakh or more students appear for CAT every year and less than 10,000 get a call from IIMs. Most of the aspirants, who appear for CAT, think that it is impossible to get into top 8000, who probably may grab an IIM call.

CAT is a test of general skills and abilities that you have acquired over time. The CAT is one of the many factors Business Schools in India use when reviewing applications for admission. It is typically balanced with work experience, group discussion and an interview. Still a candidate’s performance on the test goes a long way towards determining whether or not he/ she should be admitted to his/ her school of choice, these other admissions criteria also play a pivotal role.

The exam measures basic
¶ Quantitative Aptitude
¶ Verbal ability,
¶ Comprehension,
¶ Data Interpretation, Reasoning and Data Sufficiency.
It does not measure:
¶ Your business skills
¶ Your job related skills.
¶ Your undergraduate course work
¶ Any other quality such as team work, creativity, communication and professional skills.

Note: Do not get confused by the above statements. Some of them may be valid at the time of interview and can differ across different schools.

The Test

Professor Amarnath Krishnaswamy of IIM Bangalore (IIM-B) stated that computer-based tests (CBT) of CAT would be a candidate-friendly test in terms of flexibility in the selection of test date, ease of registration process, better physical environment and test experience. The new system is also expected to help the IIMs cope effectively with the increasing number of candidates every year. While around 95,000 candidates took CAT in 2003, the number rose to about 250,000 last year, reflecting a growth of over 163% and bringing the administrative system under severe pressure. Besides the seven IIMs, which conduct the exams, the CAT results are also used by 124 other management institutions to enroll students.

Number of questions and sometimes pattern varies from year to year. Typically as the past historical record shows this test can be expected to comprise between100 to 150 objective type questions and is usually divided into three to four sections. The duration of the test is of 120 minutes. There is negative marking in the CAT paper and for every wrong answer a certain score is deducted from your total. The IIMs do not disclose the way they calculate the negative marks for the wrong answers.

The CAT going online this year comes as welcome news but there are many inhibitions cropping among the ones appearing for it this time. Now, CAT test would be conducted over a few test days rather than on one day and it would be similar to the pattern of the GMAT and GRE. MBA aspirants would have the flexibility of choosing the day and time of taking CBT. While global CBTs like IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT have been conducted in India for over 10 years, CAT is a recent addition. 

As of now, the opportunity for appearing for the CAT comes only once a year. If a student is not able to appear for the test on the stipulated day, he/she has to wait for the next year. Since CBT-CAT may be held on more than one day, students get more options. Following this, if the IIMs allow, students may get more than one attempt in a year to crack the CAT.

The Advantages of CAT going Online

According to Apeejay (Stya Education Research Foundation)

¶ Greater flexibility in timing and scheduling of the test. This would allow more students to take the exam which would also create more competition.

¶ Like the GMAT and other CBTs, there could be the possibility of retaking the test in the same year instead of waiting for the next year (depending on CAT policy).

¶ In the long run this would significantly reduce the cost of administering these exams since manual checking is time consuming.

¶ CBTs would also encourage the IIMs to open more testing centers in the  future allowing further flexibility for   students to take the exam, since the marginal cost associated with more   students taking a CBT is comparatively less than in the manual process.

¶ If test scores are made available immediately after the test then students can apply to colleges in a more targeted manner.

Over time if it becomes a standardised and adaptive test it is likely to be a better tool to test aptitude than the existing formats. So for the IIMs it is likely to be a better measure of aptitude check.  

The Disadvantages of CAT going Online
According to Amit Kale (of WriteYup)

¶ The test is conducted in the span of 10 days and every day you would have three different slots, it means that there would be 30 different test papers at least. Though the authorities may take good care that the entire 30 question paper sets would have similar difficult level, still there is a slight chance of partiality towards the aspirants.

¶ People who are from remote areas and do not have frequent access to internet, for them travelling to the test center would be a hindrance.

¶ Access to computer for practice and testing would become the key clinchers now. This could be a disadvantage to a few people who have no access to computers. Also those aspirants, who are well versed with internet and the advance technologies, would have an edge on the others.

¶ It would be difficult for the students to go back to the question which is left un-attempted.

¶ In RC most of the students are habituated with underlining and circling important words or phrases, in online test it may not be possible.

¶ Also for the rough work, in an offline paper-pencil test, you can do it on the question paper itself but in online test it would be difficult.

The disadvantages are basically for the students in this transition time. One shifting the mindset
from paper based format to a computer based format would take a little more time.

Significant Challenges Associated with a Computer Based CAT Scoring

In the past there was one exam and all students had to appear for the same exam so the results were comparable. With a CBT, students take the CAT exam with different questions on different days. The IIMs would need to make sure that the different exams have the same level of difficulty in a country where even a 1% difference in marks can make or break the chance of admission into a college.

This is perhaps the most important challenge for the IIMs for the new format. The different question papers would be of statistically similar difficulty levels. Prometric has a long experience in creating standardised tests. So it is likely that they would use this experience to pull out statistically similar papers which may be approved by the IIMs.

If you convert any Computer Based Paper to a Paper based paper, it is likely to be easier. But the fact that a student is attempting it on a computer would make it difficult. There are a few changes that are likely. The amount of reading / data to process in the RC/ DI sections is likely to be less compared to a paper based format. 

Computer Skills

Limited access to computers and internet connection for students living in remote areas is going to be a problem. To be successful in a CBT, proficiency in using a computer is a must especially since the time allotted is limited. This could put economically backward students at a disadvantage. Students who do not have access to computers at home should try to practice exams which are available on the internet at public/ college libraries/ cyber cafes.

Test Format

Online tests do not mean web testing. CAT is actually going to be a Computer Based Test. It is likely to be conducted at some designated centers of Prometric, across India. It is not going to be very different from the way CAT was conducted in the past. It is not likely to impact the students in any way. But students whether in the city or in a small town, not having easy access to computers might be disadvantaged during the preparation.  

The test format of the CAT, as it has been used earlier (paper and pen), is not suited for a computer-based test as it required a lot of calculations. The same thing cannot be reproduced with a computer-based test. Hopefully the test makers would look into this and design the format accordingly.

Computer Based Test

A Computer-Based Testing (CBT), also known as Computer-Based Assessment (CBA), e-exam, computerized testing and computer-administered testing, is a method of administering tests in which the responses are electronically recorded, assessed, or both. As the name implies, Computer-Based Assessment makes use of a computer or an equivalent electronic device (i.e. hand held computer). CBA systems enable educators and trainers to author, schedule, deliver, and report on surveys, quizzes, tests and exams.

Computer-Based Test may be a stand-alone system or a part of a virtual learning environment, possibly accessed via the World Wide Web.

General advantages of Computer-Based Test (CBT) systems over traditional Pen-and-Paper Testing (PPT) have been demonstrated in several comparative works and includes: increased delivery, administration and scoring efficiency; reduced costs for many elements of the testing lifecycle; improved test security resulting from electronic transmission and encryption; consistency and reliability; faster and more controlled test revision process with shorter response time; faster decision-making as the result of immediate scoring and reporting; unbiased test administration and scoring; fewer response entry and recognition errors; fewer comprehension errors caused by the testing process; improved translation and localisation with universal availability of content; new advanced and flexible item types; increased candidate acceptance and satisfaction; evolutionary step toward future testing methodologies.

In addition to traditional testing approaches carried out in a paper-pencil mode, there are a variety of aspects needed to be taken into account when CBA is deployed, such as software quality, secure delivery, reliable network (if Internet-based), capacities, support, maintenance, software costs for development and test delivery, including licences. Any of the delivery modes, whether Paper-Pencil and/or computer-based, comprises advantages and challenges which can hardly be compared, especially in relation to estimated costs. The use of CBA includes additional benefits which can be achieved from an organisational, psychological, analytical and pedagogical perspective. Many experts agree on the overall added value and advantages of e-testing in large-scale assessments.

It is also envisaged that computer-based formative assessment, in particular, would play an increasingly important role in learning, with the increased use of banks of question items for the construction and delivery of dynamic, on-demand assessments.

The Information Doled Out By The IIMs:

¶ Confirmation that CAT is becoming a computer-based test from 2009 (CBT CAT).

¶ Prometric ETS has been awarded the contract for conducting the test. CAT 2009 would be conducted over 10 days at the end of 2009. More details would be communicated along with the advertisement (this is typically released in July)

¶ According to IIM-B admission chairperson Subhashish Gupta, CAT 2009 is unlikely to be computer adaptive.

¶ Most likely there would be three tests a day over 10 days — meaning a total of 30 different tests. (source : Rediff.com)

CAT 09 is very unlikely to be computer adaptive (that is the system adapts itself to the test takers according to their intelligence. If you answer a question right, the next question would be more tough and of more marks, and if you answer a question wrong the next question would be a slightly easy one). Making it Computer adaptive would not be feasible right now, as the IIMs would perhaps not have the repository of the correct answers and the wrong answers attempted by CAT takers all these years. So deciding if a particular problem is difficult or easy would be purely based on the judgment of the CAT question paper setter.

One more issue lingering in the minds of the aspirants – “Is it not unfair, that I may get slightly difficult questions and my competitor might get easier ones?” Well, very possible. But realise that no question is easy or difficult. It is only our preparation that determines that. Also, IIMs would ensure a fair competition and would set questions from different set of question banks dependant on the difficulty level or the time taken to solve it.

Every test shall have a different set of question paper. But then the difficulty level for each test would be more or less similar.

“The initiative would be rolled out in 2009. The idea is to provide a time window, whereby students can take the examination within the stipulated period,” said IIM Lucknow Director Dr Devi Singh. An additional reason to take the CAT online is to reduce the time spent on administration and evaluation process.

How are the IIMs going to Compare or Normalise the Scores Across Various Tests?

While the information has not been made public, we can extrapolate from the manner in which they compare scores for past academics for CAT aspirants.

If the IIMs decide on non-adaptive testing, they would be expected to normalise the scores across different papers using statistical distribution of scores for each test. A basic example would assume that the scores follow a bell curve. Then, the performance of students would be measured by how they have performed compared to the average performance.

If the IIMs decide on computer-adaptive testing, then each question would have a difficulty rating. A student would face a moderately difficult question first. Based on whether he gets it right or wrong, the level of difficulty would go up or down. There would be an algorithm that would generate the scores. (Source: Rediff.com).

A student very innocently asked whether he requires any extra computer skills to attempt this exam. NO. It is just a question paper which comes on the computer screen. So if you know how to operate your cell phone, operating the graphics on the computer would not be tough at all. Moreover, the coaching institutes would surely have sufficient material and arrangements to give you practice. Also, the IIMs would ensure that you first take a practice test on their system before jumping into attempting the actual questions. Yes, it would help to practice reading on the computer screen, which is quite tiring.

About being able to do rough work, this is the biggest disadvantage of taking CAT online. The second one being reading huge comprehension passages online. Now as that would not be possible, IIMs would decide to give you rough sheets or maybe create.

Right now, it is more important that you prepare the normal way and stop speculating. Get your fundamentals right, and get trained for the three sections which sure are not going to change. There is no clarity if the entire question paper would be given at once online, or would it be question after question. Also, there is no clarity if one can return back to an unanswered question. So there is no point thinking about it, and rather follow and make up your strategy of selecting questions and answering them. Sure, if anything changes, you would have to dump the strategy later. Of course, start practicing reading comprehensions and content on the computer screen to increase speed.

So it is recommended that you rather concentrate on building up the fundamentals and ground knowledge. It could be adapted to whatever technology and form required. Yes, this year’s CAT would be an unfair disadvantage to those who have been writing it for many years, as they must have gained considerable knowledge and built up enough strategies to attempt CAT like in the previous format. It would be a fresh start for them all over again.

Focus

Those who have already begun their CAT preparation need to de-learn a little to be able to accept the CAT 2009 challenge head on. With many perceived challenges for test-takers, one thing is sure — the average time per question would increase. Let the following areas of your preparation be focused on:

CAT Verbal getting more importance

We know from past that the test developers have been trying hard to make the overall test more ‘Verbal Section Centered’. This together with that fact that CAT 2009 is online confirms that your verbal skills must be a strength area for expecting a high percentile. The unexpected extra weightage given to the Verbal Section in CAT 2008 confirms this.

Moreover, in other standardised online tests like the GMAT, the verbal percentile has more impact on one’s overall percentile than the percentile in other sections. Now, with the CAT taking its GMAT avatar, it is expected to re-state this emphasis on verbal ability.

New Reading Comprehensions means New Approach

Gone are the days when we used to do an RC on paper. We could easily surf through all the questions before even looking at the RC’s content. Imagine, an RC on the computer screen where it appears vertically on the left half of the screen and the right half has questions coming one by one. Moreover, there is ZERO possibility of underlining the keywords in the passage. You would have no option but to jot down the keywords, topic sentences and inferential information in the passages on to a paper to answer the questions in time. Additionally, do you think reading paper-based news bulletins would help if the ultimate reading is required to be done on a computer screen?

Old Data Interpretation with New Challenges

The next challenge before test-takers is to manage the large amount of data in the DI section without any option of writing or underlining key information on the screen itself. One would have to either calculate mentally or look up to the screen and then down to the paper to jot down the figure for calculations. This would substantially increase the time one would spend on each question.

CAT Preparation

The biggest challenge before test-takers is how to prepare and test themselves before the actual exam. If the ultimate test is online, it is high time, to switch to computer-based preparation and practice. If not, they would stay fit only for paper-based IIFTs and SNAPs. With CAT going online, be prepared for news of SNAP, JMET, XAT (once again), MAT, NMAT, FMS and IIFT going online.

It’s Not About CDs And Computer Labs

The reason that CAT is going online holds the key to its preparation strategy. As the number of test-takers increases it is obviously impossible to manage its administration offline. And it is this increase that demands heavily on the assessment and testing. Hence, only online testing cannot help. An analytical approach to CAT 2009 preparation is the key. You must check everyday how much closer you are to 99+ percentile, failing which you are definitely going to lose your rank to those who are.

Unless you do the question by question, topic by topic, strength and weakness analysis of each test that you take, whether a chapter-wise or mock test, you can never be certain of its probable contribution to your ultimate percentile in November. Analysis is all that counts for belling CAT 2009.

Can Trainers Really Help?

Yes, they can; provided they know a lot more than the subjects they teach. That is, with the test analytics available for each test a student takes, it is vital for the trainers to be trained on how to infer from such graphs and tables in order to help students improve the percentiles in the subsequent tests. Only technology-driven trainers can bring the element of objectivity in CAT 2009 preparation.

Preparation Needed to Ace the Tests:

As suggested by R Shiva Kumar, Director, Career Launcher

¶ Get comfortable working on computers. You cannot afford to tell yourself, I can’t work on it. 
¶ Reading a lot of stuff on computer.    Getting used to comprehension from the   screen.  
¶ Fundamentals do not change much. But the “testing” process changes both in terms of strategy and execution.
¶ Adequate practice on the online medium. 
¶ Experience testing on the computers.

CAT Preparation Gets Easier

If possible take a few CBTs in a “simulated environment” away from the comfort of home.
One major advantage that CAT 2009 offers is that one can gain quick access to the tests and preparation material at any time of the day if it is available online. This would offer customisation and flexibility to the test-takers preparing for CAT 2009.

Other Relevant details

To appear for Online CAT, candidates would need to purchase scratch-vouchers from the designated bank branches, and later register online for CAT 2009. Vouchers would go on sale from September 9, 2009. CAT Advertisement appeared in leading newspapers on Sunday, August 30, 2009.

This announcement brings domestic IT opportunities for companies providing Online mock test or infrastructure for CAT trainers. This would also spring up many Online Preparatory sites resembling the look and feel of the test.

Online registration for CAT 2009 would begin on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 and end on Thursday, October 1, 2009. Instructions on access to online registration would be given in the voucher, and, detailed registration instructions would be on the CAT website.

CAT would be held during the period Saturday, November 28, 2009 – Monday, December 7,   2009. You can choose a test date, session (morning/afternoon), and venue across 30 centers (cities) all over India, subject to availability.

Let’s hope this E-education initiative is replicated across wide spectrum in India thus finally accruing the benefits of E-revolution to every Indians.