GATE 2026 Normalisation Process: How Scores are calculated?

GATE 2026 Normalisation Process: How Scores are calculated?

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Team Careers360Updated on 22 Aug 2025, 01:34 PM IST

GATE Normalisation Process: How Scores are Calculated - IIT Guwhati has released the details of the GATE 2026 Normalisation process on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates can check the GATE Normalisation process on this page. The GATE exam is a national-level exam conducted by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, under Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India. The exam evaluates the aptitude of engineering and science graduates in various subjects for admission to postgraduate programs like M.E, M.Tech, MS, and direct Ph.D. programs in IITs, NITs, and other institutions across India.

This Story also Contains

  1. GATE Marks Vs Score
  2. How GATE Normalised Scores are Calculated?
  3. GATE Score Card 2026
GATE 2026 Normalisation Process: How Scores are calculated?
GATE 2026 Normalisation Process

Since the exam is conducted in multiple sessions across various centres, normalisation is used to ensure that the scores of candidates are comparable across different sessions. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) normalisation marks calculator takes into account the relative performance of all the candidates who appeared for the GATE 2026 exam in that particular session. The scores obtained by the candidates are then normalised based on the mean and standard deviation of the raw scores in their respective sessions. This helps to account for any variations in the difficulty level of the different sets of question papers and ensures a fair evaluation of the candidates' performance. To know more information about how to calculate gate score from marks read the entire article.

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GATE Marks Vs Score

The candidates seeking how GATE score is calculated out of 1000, must know GATE score of a candidate is obtained using a formula out of 1000 while the marks of a candidate is the actual number secured by a candidate in the exam out of 100. The GATE result of qualified candidates indicates both GATE score and marks obtained by candidates. GATE 2026 scores are used by institutes to offer admission in PG engineering courses and also by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) for shortlisting candidates to offer employment.

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How GATE Normalised Scores are Calculated?

The GATE conducting institute uses formulas for converting the marks of candidates to scores. Since some papers are conducted in multiple sessions, to arrive at a normalized score for these multiple-session papers, a suitable normalization formula is applied to take into account any variation in the difficulty levels of the question papers across different sessions.

The normalization is done based on the fundamental assumption that "in all multi-session GATE papers, the distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the sessions". This assumption is justified since the number of candidates appearing in multi-session papers in GATE is large and the procedure for allocation of sessions to candidates is random.

Further, it is also ensured that for the same multi-session paper, the number of candidates allotted in each session is of the same order of magnitude. Hence, the following GATE normalized marks calculator formula is used to calculate the GATE normalized score,

GATE Normalisation Formula

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How GATE scores are calculated

For all papers for which there is only one session, actual marks obtained by the candidates are used for calculating the GATE Score. For papers in multi-sessions, normalized marks are used for calculating the GATE score. The following formula is used to calculate the GATE exam score.

GATE Score Calculation Formula

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In GATE 2026, the qualifying marks (?q) for the general category candidate in each subject will be Qualifying marks for GENERAL category =max(25, min(40, ?? + ??))

where ?? is the mean and ?? is the standard deviation of marks of all the candidates who appeared for the test paper.

The qualifying marks for other categories may be calculated as per the standard ratio:

Qualifying marks for OBC-NCL/EWS categories = (9/10) × Qualifying marks for GENERAL category

Qualifying marks for SC/ST/PwD categories = (2/3) × Qualifying marks for GENERAL category

GATE Score Card 2026

Candidates who will qualify in the GATE exam 2026 by securing a minimum score will be issued the GATE 2026 score card. Students will be able to download their GATE 2026 scorecard on its official website. GATE 2026 scorecard is the official document confirming the qualification of candidates in the exam. GATE score card 2026 is used while applying for M.Tech admission or in PSU recruitment through GATE.

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Questions related to GATE

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to GATE ?

Hello

If you're in 2nd year right now, you can’t register for GATE 2026 just yet.
The exam is only open to students in the 3rd year or beyond in their degree.
It’s mainly because the GATE tests subjects that are usually taught later in your course.
But don’t worry, you are in a great position to start preparing early!
Focus on your basics, practice problem-solving, and build strong concepts now.
By the time you reach 3rd year, you’ll be well ahead of the game.

Hello,

If your GATE 2026 application shows "under scrutiny," continue to monitor your applicant portal and registered email for updates, as this is a routine process where officials verify your details.  An "under scrutiny" status does not mean your application is rejected; you may be notified of discrepancies and given a chance to correct them during the application correction window, which opens later. Keep your application details accurate and prepare for the exam while waiting for the correction window to open.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,

In the GATE application form , you should enter your name exactly as it appears in your official ID proof , even if the order is different.

For example:

  • If your ID proof shows Surname + First Name , enter it in the same way in the form.

  • Do not change the order to First Name + Surname.

This is important because your GATE admit card and scorecard will match your ID proof.

Keep it exactly the same to avoid any issues later.

Hope it helps !

Hello,

Yes, you as a Bachelor of Science graduate in home science can appear for the GATE 2026 exam, as the eligibility criteria include graduates from "Science" and other fields, as well as those in the 3rd year or higher of an undergraduate program.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hey! The GATE exam (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is very important for long-term career growth. It opens opportunities for postgraduate studies (M.Tech, MS, PhD) in top institutes like IITs and NITs and is also used by many public sector companies (PSUs) for recruitment, often with higher salary packages. In the long run, qualifying GATE can enhance your technical knowledge, career prospects, and credibility in the engineering field.