Overview of Revised Format for CAT (Common Admission Test) 2011, Here is News for
CAT 2011 Exam New Format.
This year's Common Admission Test (CAT) will have a new format. Candidates will
not only have more time, but also a section less to attempt. The test will start
from October 22 and continue till November 18 2011.
According to the CAT committee, the computer-based test will now have only two sections
with separate time limits. Candidates will also be given a 15-minute tutorial before
the commencement of the main CAT examination.
"According to revised format for CAT, the first section of CAT exam will focus on
quantitative ability and data interpretation, while the second will be on verbal
ability and logical reasoning. Each section will have 30 questions and 70 minutes
will be given. Both sections will follow a sequence with on-screen countdown timers
for each," said professor Janakiraman Moorthy of IIM-Kolkata and CAT 2011 convenor.
Earlier, the test was divided into three sections with 20 questions each.
Under the new format, once time ends for the first section, the aspirants will move
to the second without the option of coming back to the previous one. Although new
in the computer-based version of CAT exam, this revised format was previously experimented
with when it was still a paper-and-pencil test. Including the tutorial, the examination
will be of two hours and 35 minutes duration.
CAT 2011, which will be conducted within a window of 28 days, will have 20 actual
testing days, like last year. For the convenience of the candidates, three new cities
- Bhilai, Jammu and Dehradun - have been added to the existing 33 test locations.
Moreover, CAT brochures can now be purchased from 201 Axis Bank branches. This step
shall reduce the difficulties faced by applicants in registering for the test.
Moorthy said: "Considerable effort has been made to maintain similar level of difficulty
across papers. A small number of statistically and psychometrically validated questions
have been randomly inserted in each question paper as equating blocks. These will
be used for establishing post test equality across the days."
The check-in procedure this year will start one-and-a-half hours before the scheduled
test time instead of two hours in CAT 2010. With this change, the afternoon session
will have an earlier start time of 3.15pm.
Under the new format, once time ends for the first section, the aspirants will move
to the second without the option of coming back to the previous one.
Courtesy: Times of India
