The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has announced that the NEET PG 2024 results will be determined using a normalization method, mirroring the approach employed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi for its examinations, including the AIIMS’s Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (AIIMS INI-CET). This decision marks a significant shift for the NEET PG exam, which was conducted on August 11, 2024, for over 2 lakh students in two shifts – the first from 9 am to 12:30 pm and the second from 3:30 pm to 7 pm. This is the inaugural instance of the medical exam being held in a double-shift format instead of a single shift. With the implementation of this new system, NBEMS has opted for a score normalization process.
On August 10th, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of petitions to postpone the NEET PG 2024 exam, NBEMS issued a notice outlining the normalization process. The official notice states, “NBEMS has adopted the process which is currently being used by AIIMS-New Delhi for its various examinations conducted in more than one shift including but not limited to INI-CET, in preparation of result for NEET-PG 2024.” Candidates can access the notice published by NBEMS on the official website, which details the normalization process to be applied in the NEET PG 2024 result preparation.
Here’s an explanation of the normalization process:
NEET PG 2024 Normalization: Understanding the Process
The NEET PG examination results for each shift will be compiled based on raw scores and percentages. In this scoring system, the highest score in each paper will be assigned a 100 percentile, irrespective of the actual raw score or percentage. This signifies that all other candidates in that particular shift achieved a score equal to or below this top scorer. The NEET PG final merit list and rankings will be determined by the percentile score derived from the raw score. In cases of a tie in percentiles, the older candidate will be given a higher rank. Percentile scores will be calculated to seven decimal places to minimize clustering effects and reduce ties among candidates.
For example, if the highest score in shift 1 is 80%, it will be normalized to the 100th percentile for that shift. Similarly, if the highest score in Shift 2 is 82%, it will be normalized to the 100th percentile for that shift. This approach ensures that each highest score receives a percentile of 100 within its specific shift, providing clear differentiation among candidates from different shifts. Aspirants can access the AIIMS normalization procedure guidelines through the link provided here.
Explained: Percentile Score
Percentiles offer a method for assessing candidates’ performance relative to others. Instead of focusing on raw scores, percentiles indicate their position among all candidates. For instance, a percentile of 90 means a candidate has performed better than 90% of the other candidates. In practice, each candidate’s scores are converted into a percentile on a scale from 0 to 100. The top scorer in each shift is awarded a 100 percentile, demonstrating their superior performance compared to everyone else in that particular shift. Therefore, your NEET PG percentile score reflects your ranking compared to other candidates within your shift, rather than an average across different subjects.
