CUET UG 2025 Result: How NTA’s Normalisation Process Ensures Fairness Across Exam Shifts
CUET UG, the results for the Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduates (CUET UG) 2025 are expected soon, although the National Testing Agency (NTA) has not yet confirmed the exact date. Once announced, students will be able to access their results via the official website at cuet.nta.nic.in.
This year, over 13.5 lakh candidates appeared for CUET UG, conducted across multiple shifts between May 13 and June 4. While many students eagerly await their scores, some may notice unexpected variations—often due to the normalisation process used by the NTA to ensure fairness across sessions.
Let’s break down what this process is, why it matters, and how it’s calculated.
Why Is Normalisation Necessary in CUET UG 2025?
CUET UG is conducted in multiple sessions and shifts to accommodate the huge number of applicants across India. However, each shift may present slightly different question papers. Even with efforts to ensure equal difficulty levels, slight variations are inevitable.
To ensure that no student is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged based on the shift they were allotted, NTA uses a normalisation process. This process aligns raw scores from different sessions so that they can be compared on a common scale.
From Raw Scores to NTA Scores: How It Works
Every candidate initially receives a raw score—the total marks they actually scored in a subject. For subjects held across multiple shifts, these raw scores are not compared directly. Instead, they are converted into percentile scores, which help position a candidate’s performance relative to others in the same session.
The final result released to candidates is the NTA score, a normalized version of the raw score derived through this process. This ensures a level playing field across different shifts and time slots.
How Is the CUET UG 2025 Normalised Score Calculated?
The normalised score is based on a percentile-based approach. It involves the following three values:
- A = The candidate’s raw score
- B = Number of candidates in that shift/session who scored equal to or less than A
- C = Total number of candidates in that shift/session
The formula used is:
(B ÷ C) × 100
This value gives the percentile score, which is calculated up to seven decimal places for precision.
🔹 Example:
Suppose a candidate scores 121 in a session of 41,326 students. If 37,244 students scored equal to or less than 121, their percentile would be:
(37,244 ÷ 41,326) × 100 = 90.1224411
This means the student performed better than roughly 90% of their peers in the same session.
What Happens After Percentiles Are Calculated?
Once percentile scores are calculated for all students across sessions, they are ranked accordingly. However, the process doesn’t end here. To arrive at the normalised raw score, the NTA uses a technique called linear interpolation.
This statistical method estimates the score a candidate might have received if they had taken the test in another session with a different difficulty level. This leads to an interpolated mark, which is then used to calculate the final normalised score:
Normalised Score = Raw Score ÷ Interpolated Score
This extra step refines the fairness further and ensures a cross-shift score equivalence.
Why Do Scores Sometimes Look Unexpected?
Candidates often feel confused when their scores seem inconsistent with their self-assessment. These surprises typically stem from the normalisation process. It’s important to understand that this doesn’t reflect an error—it’s the system working to remove bias introduced by varying paper difficulty.
When Will the CUET UG 2025 Results Be Released?
While the NTA has not officially declared the result date, answer keys were published on June 17, and candidates were allowed to submit objections until June 20. Based on past trends, results may follow shortly after the resolution of objections.
Students are advised to regularly check the official portal: cuet.nta.nic.in for updates.
The CUET UG 2025 normalisation process might seem complex, but it’s a scientifically robust method to ensure every student gets a fair chance—regardless of which shift they appeared in. Understanding it can help reduce anxiety and give clarity as you await your results.
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