XAT 2026 Score vs Percentile: Section-wise Cutoffs and Trends
What is the difference between the XAT 2026 score and the percentile?
The XAT 2026 score vs percentile allows candidates to understand their marks in the exam against their overall rank. The sum of the marks earned by a candidate for both right and wrong answers is their XAT score. Their percentile however indicates the number of people who scored less than or equal to the candidates.
Knowing the difference between score and percentile helps students decide whether they can make it to the cutoff of their desired college or not. The cutoffs may differ depending on the seat availability and other rules set by each college.
Which Method is Used to Calculate the XAT Scores?
To determine their XAT score test-takers must aggregate the points they received in each of the four sections:
Verbal & Logical Ability (VA & LR)
Decision Making (DM)
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA & DI)
General Knowledge (GK)
Each correct answer awards +1 mark and every wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks. If test-takers leave more than 8 questions blank, a 0.10 mark will be deducted for each additional question unattempted.
Their percentile is determined by how they performed in relation to other people. For instance, if your percentile is 90 it indicates that you performed better than 90% of individuals who sat for the examination.
How to Calculate XAT Percentile?
The XAT percentile indicates the performance of a candidate relative to others. It is computed with the help of a basic formula:
XAT Percentile = [(Total candidates – Candidate's rank) / Total candidates] × 100
For instance: if a person receives the 100th rank among 10,000 students their percentile will be 99.9. This indicates that he/she performed above 99.9% of the test-takers.
Therefore, if a student is ranked in the 90th percentile they performed better than 90% of the individuals who sat for the test.
What will influence the XAT 2026 Percentile vs Score?
A number of factors may influence how XAT scores are translated into percentiles. They include:
The last year's percentiles.
The difficulty level of each portion of the test.
The score normalisation process (to even out difficulty levels).
The number of students who appeared for XAT 2026.
These criteria determine how a student's score is converted into a percentile and affect the general merit list.
XAT 2025 Score Sectional & Overall vs Percentile
| VALR | QADI | DM | Overall | Percentile |
| 16-17 | 16-17 | 14-15 | 42-44 | 99 |
| 13-14 | 12-13 | 12-13 | 35-37 | 95 |
| 11-12 | 11-12 | 11-12 | 30-32 | 90 |
| 8-9 | 7-8 | 9-10 | 22-24 | 75 |
Comparison of XAT VALR Scores & Overall Percentile Year-wise (2025-23)
This table gives the comparison of XAT VALR (Verbal & Logical Ability) percentiles and scores for years 2023, 2024 and 2025. In all three years the VALR section consisted of 26 questions carrying an aggregate of 26 marks. The table assists students in knowing what VALR score they require in a given year in order to attain a given percentile.
Comparison of XAT QADI Scores & Overall Percentile Year-wise (2025-23)
This is the comparison of XAT QADI (Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation) score and percentiles for 2023, 2024 and 2025. In each year this section consisted of 28 questions with a total of 28 marks. This table provides students with an idea about how many marks they had to achieve in QADI to achieve a specific percentile. It is helpful to candidates preparing for the next XAT exam to mark target scores on the basis of past trends.
Comparison of XAT DM Scores & Overall Percentile Year-wise (2025-23)
The XAT Decision Making (DM) marks and the total percentiles for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025aspirants reference. The DM section contained 22 questions in 2023 whereas 21 questions in 2024 and 2025 and had the same maximum marks as the number of questions every year.
XAT Cutoff 2025 for the Top MBA Colleges in India
FAQs
XAT percentile is computed as follows: Percentile = [(Total candidates – Candidate's rank) / Total candidates] × 100 It indicates what proportion of students scored less than or equal to a candidate. For instance, 90 percentile means the candidate performed better than 90% of the rest.
No they are not the same. Your XAT score is your overall marks in the exam and the XAT percentile is your ranking compared to all test-takers.
Students can refer to previous year XAT statistics to estimate what their score could mean in terms of percentile. Suppose last year a score of 13 in decision-making was a 99 percentile it can be the same this year barring the paper being much tougher or easier. Most coaching centres also publish estimated score vs percentile charts so students can estimate.
XAT is held within a day so technically there isn't even a necessity for normalisation as with other tests that are taken in more than one slot. Yet small tweaks may still be done during the scoring process. But for the most part your raw score is what you end up with and your percentile is based on how other people performed on that same test.
Yes, it can happen if the exam paper is extremely difficult and everyone gets low marks. In such a situation even a poorer score may put a person in the top ranks. That's why percentiles are more helpful to judge performance than scores.
