As candidates await their JEE Main 2026 results, many are trying to understand how the percentile scores displayed on scorecards are derived and why they differ from raw marks obtained in the exam. The National Testing Agency (NTA) uses a normalisation process to ensure fairness in evaluating performance across different shifts and days of the exam.
What Is the JEE Main Percentile Score?
The percentile score in JEE Main is a normalized metric based on the relative performance of candidates who appeared in a particular session. It reflects the percentage of candidates who scored equal to or below a candidate’s raw score on that day. Top performers in any session receive a 100th percentile score, and the rest are scaled accordingly on a 100 to 0 range. Unlike raw marks, which are simply the number of correct and incorrect answers converted into a score out of 300, percentiles take into account the distribution of scores within a session. Percentile scores are calculated up to 7 decimal places to minimise clustering and reduce tie scenarios.
How the JEE Main Normalisation Process Works?
Since JEE Main is conducted in multiple sessions with different question papers, slight variations in difficulty can arise from one session to another. To address this, NTA adopts a normalisation process used in other national exams like the CAT to ensure no candidate gains an unfair advantage due to easier question sets.
The basic percentile formula used by NTA is:Percentile Score = 100 × (Number of candidates in session scoring equal to or less than the candidate / Total number of candidates in that session).
This formula is applied to each session independently. Candidates’ percentile scores across sessions are then merged to prepare the overall rank list for JEE Main.
JEE Main 2026: Normalisation and Final Ranking
The normalised percentile scores, not raw marks, are used to compile the final merit list for JEE Main 2026. If a candidate appears in multiple sessions, the best percentile score among their attempts is considered for ranking. To minimise ties in percentile scores, NTA applies tie-breaking rules such as comparing subject-wise percentile scores starting with Mathematics, followed by Physics, then Chemistry or by the proportion of attempted correct answers among tied candidates.
Why JEE Main Percentile, Not Raw Marks, Matter?
Using percentile instead of raw marks ensures that candidates are evaluated on a level playing field, regardless of the shift or day they appeared in. Because shifts may vary slightly in difficulty, raw marks alone cannot fairly compare performances across all sessions. A topper of one session may even have the exact percentile 100 as a topper of another session, even if their raw scores differ. This is the strength of the normalisation process, which focuses on relative performance rather than absolute raw marks.