CAT (Common Admission Test), conducted for admission in graduate management program is an entrance test that has witnessed many changes in its exam pattern over a period of years. Whether it is moving from pen-paper mode to online test in 2009, or changes in the number of sections in 2011; the exam has always surprised students with its changes. Now, when CAT 2020 is scheduled for November 29, it becomes important to know how the exam has evolved itself from the 1990’s.

Latest Update: CAT Registration has started from August 5 and candidates can fill the form till September 16, 2020 on iimcat.ac.in. Apply Here!

Exam pattern of CAT has always added something extra almost every year to cope up with the growing competition among the candidates of the exam. Here, in this article we will discuss the significant changes in the exam pattern and standard of CAT questions from 1990s to the year 2020. 

CAT Eligibility CAT SyllabusCAT Score Calculation CAT Paper Analysis CAT Exam Pattern CAT Accepting Colleges

CAT 2020 Exam Pattern

Though CAT Exam pattern has changed over the years, it has remained constant since the past 3 years.

• CAT 2020 will comprise 3 sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA).
• Each section has an allocated time of one hour.
• Number of Non-MCQ questions with no negative marking will be less in CAT 2020.

Following table gives a better analysis of 2020 CAT Exam pattern.

Preparing for CAT 2020? Go Through

• CAT Quantitative Aptitude Important Topics, Syllabus and Tips
• CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Important Topics, Syllabus and Tips
• CAT Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning Important Topics, Syllabus and Tips

CAT 1995-98 vs CAT 2020 

CAT exam pattern has experienced so many changes in the past decade that it is difficult for for candidates of today’s time to think of appearing for CAT paper at that time. There is a lot of difference between CAT 1995-98 and CAT 2020.

• CAT 1995 was conducted in offline mode as a pen-paper exam while CAT 2020 will be conducted as a computer-based test.

• The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections were grouped in 1995 and 1996 and had a time limit of 1 hour.

The following table will explain the difference between the paper pattern of both times.

Must Read News

• Tricks to Solve CAT QA Questions
• Tips to Solve TITA Questions in CAT 2020

Level of Questions in CAT Over the Years

If we look at the level of questions asked in CAT exam over the years, then the difficulty level of the exam has increased with every passing year. Take for consideration, CAT 2010, where the questions in Verbal Ability and Quantitative Aptitude sections were moderate while Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning was relatively tough and involved tedious calculations.

• Examining the level of questions asked in CAT 2018, the overall difficulty level of each section was very high in comparison to 2010.

• The DI-LR section in CAT 2018 was quite difficult while the Quant section was highly calculative.

• In CAT 2014, the exam had only two sections- Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation & Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. The Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation was moderate and questions of Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning ranged between easy to moderate. Both sections had 50 questions each.

Consider the following table to understand the level of questions asked in CAT from 2015 to 2018.

Significant Changes in CAT over the Years 

CAT 2009 Exam Pattern

• Exam Mode- In CAT 2009, the exam mode was changed from pen-paper mode to computer-based test.

• Time Duration- The time duration in the year 2009 was 2 hours 15 minutes.

CAT 2011 Exam Pattern

• Change from 3 sections to 2 sections- In CAT 2011, the three sections of the exam were combined into two sections- Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation & Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.

• Two Sections with section-wise time limit- Along with the change in sections, time limit of 1 hour per section was set in the year 2011.

CAT 2015 Exam Pattern

CAT 2015 saw most number of changes in the exam pattern. Changes in the pattern were-

• Introduction of on-screen calculator and non-MCQs.

• Number of sections again converted to three.

• Time duration of exam increased from 170 minutes to 180 minutes.

A detailed analysis of changes observed in CAT Exam pattern from the past years have been given below:

A graph is provided below for a better understanding of the data above.

As evident from the graph above, in the initial years of the past decade, there was a great difference between the number of questions in CAT Exam and time allotted for each section, making it easier for candidates to attempt the paper. However, since 2014, there has been a rise in the number of questions and reduction in sectional time allotted, making CAT exam more competitive.

MCQ - Non-MCQ Questions Ratio from 2015 to 2018

Weightage to number of MCQ and Non-MCQ questions have been given much since the clause of negative marking is involved. The table below gives a brief idea about the variance in the number of MCQ and Non-MCQ questions from 2015 till 2018.

CAT Previous Year Papers