CAT back to its
pristine glory: VistaMind CEO
In section II, the honours were
equally divided among the three sub areas that students prepared for
The author of this column is Arks
Srinivas, CEO, VistaMind Education. Mr Srinivas carries more than 15 years of
diverse experience in industry, training and academia. A bachelor of
engineering, Srinivas graduated from IIM Calcutta
Apprehensions associated with CAT papers undergoing major changes with the exam becoming online have largely been proven unfounded. One of the mainstays of CAT was not just the competition (more than 2 lakh students writing the exam), but also the difficulty of the paper per se. The problem was not about solving difficult questions but about using the time available to solve the ones that are easy and score more. Resource management (time and knowledge) was the key to crack CAT.
CAT 2012 is proving once again to be on the expected lines. Questions are neither easy nor very tough. The advantage of preparation for CAT is evident from the way students are attempting the paper. A well-prepared student now has more chance of scoring more and getting a better percentile than a person not thoroughly prepared.
In the last three years, the CAT papers (in almost all slots) were relatively easy. So, the difference between a person getting a higher percentile and a person getting a lower percentile hinged upon who made lesser mistakes. The aptitude was hardly checked. That seems to have changed and changed for good!
If the feedback from students who wrote the test in the first week is any indication, the paper has all the ingredients of a good competitive exam. Balanced difficulty level, spread of questions across areas, a few surprises and above all, a smooth and faultless conduction of the exam have brought CAT back to its pristine glory!
As the convener has repeatedly said, the paper pattern has followed a very logical construct. In section I, the number of questions in quantitative and data interpretation areas were divided in the ratio 2:1 (give or take a question form a total of 30 questions!). If DI was difficult, there were easier Quant questions and if Quant was tough, two sets out of three in DI were easy. This perfectly balanced the paper and the examiner therefore would be able to test the student’s ability not just in the areas given but also his usage and allocation of time. In addition, what gets automatically tested is one’s performance under pressure.
Similarly in section II, the honours were equally divided among the three sub areas that students prepared for. The ratio of questions in verbal ability (para jumbles, para completion, word usage, fill-in-the-blanks, grammar), reading comprehension and logical reasoning (analytical ability)) was almost 1:1:1 in almost all papers (again give or a take a question in verbal/LA). The main feature of the papers (again in almost all slots) was that the difficulty level varied across areas. This gave students a unique chance to utilize his skills to maximize scores.
The only hitch!
A couple of days back, in a press conference, Soumitra Roy and Prof SSS Kumar, MD of Prometric and convener of CAT 2012 respectively, mentioned that they were looking at rationalizing the CAT paper so as to ensure maximum participation from all streams of graduates. If that was the case, this year’s CAT paper does not reflect that mood. Questions from trigonometry coordinate geometry and higher algebra were strewn across papers which would have intimidated many engineering students leave alone a non-engineer. The fact that any graduate can take the CAT exam should necessarily be considered while setting papers. The Quant section, especially, should have questions from areas taught till the 10th standard. While some of the above topics mentioned are introduced in the 10th standard in many boards, there is hardly any depth in the concepts taught.
Overall, a success
despite what has been said above, conducting of CAT 2012 as well as the paper(s) so far have pleased students, as now only those with genuine aptitude and preparation can get through the paper.
Apprehensions associated with CAT papers undergoing major changes with the exam becoming online have largely been proven unfounded. One of the mainstays of CAT was not just the competition (more than 2 lakh students writing the exam), but also the difficulty of the paper per se. The problem was not about solving difficult questions but about using the time available to solve the ones that are easy and score more. Resource management (time and knowledge) was the key to crack CAT.
CAT 2012 is proving once again to be on the expected lines. Questions are neither easy nor very tough. The advantage of preparation for CAT is evident from the way students are attempting the paper. A well-prepared student now has more chance of scoring more and getting a better percentile than a person not thoroughly prepared.
In the last three years, the CAT papers (in almost all slots) were relatively easy. So, the difference between a person getting a higher percentile and a person getting a lower percentile hinged upon who made lesser mistakes. The aptitude was hardly checked. That seems to have changed and changed for good!
If the feedback from students who wrote the test in the first week is any indication, the paper has all the ingredients of a good competitive exam. Balanced difficulty level, spread of questions across areas, a few surprises and above all, a smooth and faultless conduction of the exam have brought CAT back to its pristine glory!
As the convener has repeatedly said, the paper pattern has followed a very logical construct. In section I, the number of questions in quantitative and data interpretation areas were divided in the ratio 2:1 (give or take a question form a total of 30 questions!). If DI was difficult, there were easier Quant questions and if Quant was tough, two sets out of three in DI were easy. This perfectly balanced the paper and the examiner therefore would be able to test the student’s ability not just in the areas given but also his usage and allocation of time. In addition, what gets automatically tested is one’s performance under pressure.
Similarly in section II, the honours were equally divided among the three sub areas that students prepared for. The ratio of questions in verbal ability (para jumbles, para completion, word usage, fill-in-the-blanks, grammar), reading comprehension and logical reasoning (analytical ability)) was almost 1:1:1 in almost all papers (again give or a take a question in verbal/LA). The main feature of the papers (again in almost all slots) was that the difficulty level varied across areas. This gave students a unique chance to utilize his skills to maximize scores.
The only hitch!
A couple of days back, in a press conference, Soumitra Roy and Prof SSS Kumar, MD of Prometric and convener of CAT 2012 respectively, mentioned that they were looking at rationalizing the CAT paper so as to ensure maximum participation from all streams of graduates. If that was the case, this year’s CAT paper does not reflect that mood. Questions from trigonometry coordinate geometry and higher algebra were strewn across papers which would have intimidated many engineering students leave alone a non-engineer. The fact that any graduate can take the CAT exam should necessarily be considered while setting papers. The Quant section, especially, should have questions from areas taught till the 10th standard. While some of the above topics mentioned are introduced in the 10th standard in many boards, there is hardly any depth in the concepts taught.
Overall, a success
despite what has been said above, conducting of CAT 2012 as well as the paper(s) so far have pleased students, as now only those with genuine aptitude and preparation can get through the paper.
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