• Updated on 3 Nov, 2026 by Simran
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XAT 2027 will be held on 3 January 2027 (2 pm to 5 pm) by XLRI Jamshedpur, and registration closes on 6 December 2026. XAT has a marking rule that no other major MBA entrance test uses: besides the penalty for wrong answers, candidates lose marks for leaving too many questions unanswered. That makes it easy to miscalculate a score by hand. The calculator below applies every XAT rule for you.
| XAT 2027 | Details |
| Exam date | 3 January 2027, 2 pm to 5 pm |
| Registration closes | 6 December 2026 |
| Conducting body | XLRI Jamshedpur, on behalf of XAMI |
| Part 1 (scored for percentile) | 75 questions, 170 minutes |
| Part 2 (GK) | 20 questions, 10 minutes |
Table of Contents
- XAT Score Calculator 2027
- XAT Marking Scheme 2027
- XAT Score Calculation: Worked Example
- Should You Guess or Skip in XAT?
- XAT Exam Pattern 2027
- Why the XAT GK Score Is Calculated Separately
- Raw XAT Score vs XAT Percentile
- How to Use the XAT Response Sheet
- Common Mistakes in Calculating the XAT Score
- Related XAT and MBA Pages
- FAQs on XAT Score Calculator 2027
XAT Score Calculator 2027
Enter your correct and wrong answers for each Part 1 section. The calculator works out your unattempted questions automatically, applies the penalty only after the first eight, and shows your GK score separately because it does not count towards the XAT percentile.
| Section | Correct | Wrong | Unattempted | Score |
| Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (26 Qs) | 26 | 0 | ||
| Decision Making (21 Qs) | 21 | 0 | ||
| Quantitative Ability & DI (28 Qs) | 28 | 0 |
Uses the XAT 2026 section split (VALR 26, DM 21, QA & DI 28, GK 20). XLRI may change the number of questions for XAT 2027; check your response sheet before calculating.
XAT Marking Scheme 2027
XAT awards one mark per correct answer and deducts a quarter of a mark for each wrong answer in Part 1. The unusual part is the unattempted-question penalty: the first eight questions you leave blank in Part 1 cost nothing, but every further blank question costs 0.10 marks. General Knowledge in Part 2 has no negative marking of any kind.
| Response | Part 1 (VALR, DM, QA & DI) | Part 2 (GK) |
| Correct answer | +1 | +1 |
| Wrong answer | −0.25 | 0 |
| Unattempted (first 8 in Part 1) | 0 | 0 |
| Unattempted (9th onwards in Part 1) | −0.10 each | 0 |
XAT score formula
XAT Part 1 score = correct − (wrong × 0.25) − (max(0, unattempted − 8) × 0.10)
The unattempted count is across all of Part 1, not per section. If you leave 5 questions in VALR and 6 in QA, that is 11 unattempted, so three of them are penalised.
XAT Score Calculation: Worked Example
| Section | Questions | Correct | Wrong | Unattempted | Section marks (before penalty) |
| VALR | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 16 − 1.25 = 14.75 |
| Decision Making | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 12 − 1.25 = 10.75 |
| QA & DI | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 15 − 1.50 = 13.50 |
| Part 1 total | 75 | 43 | 16 | 16 | 39.00 |
Unattempted questions: 16. The first 8 are free, so the penalty is (16 − 8) × 0.10 = 0.80. Part 1 score = 39.00 − 0.80 = 38.20 out of 75. If the same candidate answered 12 of 20 GK questions correctly, their GK score is 12, reported separately.
Should You Guess or Skip in XAT?
Because blank questions beyond eight carry a small penalty, the maths of guessing in XAT is different from other exams. A blind guess on a five-option question has a one-in-five chance of +1 and a four-in-five chance of −0.25, an expected value of 0. Leaving that same question blank, once you are past eight blanks, costs a certain −0.10. So once your eight free skips are used up, a pure guess is, on average, slightly better than skipping, and an educated guess after eliminating even one option is clearly better.
| Situation | Leave blank | Guess (5 options) | Better choice |
| Within the first 8 unattempted | 0 | Expected 0 | Either; skipping avoids variance |
| 9th unattempted onwards, no idea | −0.10 | Expected 0 | Guess, marginally |
| 9th onwards, one option eliminated | −0.10 | Expected +0.06 | Guess |
| 9th onwards, two options eliminated | −0.10 | Expected +0.17 | Guess |
Expected value of a guess = (1 ÷ options left) × 1 − (1 − 1 ÷ options left) × 0.25.
XAT Exam Pattern 2027
| Part | Section | Questions | Time | Negative marking |
| Part 1 | Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VALR) | 26 | 170 minutes (shared) | −0.25 wrong; −0.10 per unattempted beyond 8 |
| Part 1 | Decision Making (DM) | 21 | ||
| Part 1 | Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (QA & DI) | 28 | ||
| Part 2 | General Knowledge (GK) | 20 | 10 minutes | None |
| Total | 95 | 180 minutes | - | |
Why the XAT GK Score Is Calculated Separately
GK is part of the XAT paper but does not count towards the XAT percentile or the shortlisting cut-off. XLRI considers GK marks later in its own selection process. Adding GK into your total would overstate the score that decides your percentile, which is why the calculator reports Part 1 and GK separately.
Raw XAT Score vs XAT Percentile
The calculator gives a raw Part 1 score. XAT results are declared as scores and percentiles, overall and section-wise, and institutes accepting XAT shortlist on overall and sectional percentiles. Because the percentile is relative to all candidates, the same raw score can map to different percentiles in different years depending on paper difficulty. Sectional performance also matters: a strong total with a very weak section can miss sectional cut-offs.
How to Use the XAT Response Sheet
- Download your response sheet and the provisional answer key from the official XAT website after XLRI releases them.
- For each Part 1 section, count correct and wrong answers by comparing with the key.
- Enter them in the calculator; unattempted questions and the penalty are worked out for you.
- Enter your correct GK answers to see the GK score.
- Recalculate with the final answer key if XLRI changes any answers.
Common Mistakes in Calculating the XAT Score
| Mistake | Correct approach |
| Ignoring the unattempted penalty | Count all Part 1 blanks; penalise each beyond the eighth by 0.10 |
| Applying the 8-question allowance per section | The allowance is for Part 1 as a whole |
| Adding GK to the total | Keep GK separate; it is not in the percentile |
| Deducting marks for wrong GK answers | GK has no negative marking |
| Using 4 options for the guessing maths | XAT questions have five options |
Related XAT and MBA Pages
- XAT 2027 exam: dates, pattern and eligibility
- XAT answer key
- XAT exam analysis
- XAT college predictor
- CAT score calculator 2026
FAQs on XAT Score Calculator 2027
How do I calculate my XAT score?
In Part 1, add 1 for each correct answer, subtract 0.25 for each wrong answer, and subtract 0.10 for each unattempted question beyond the first eight. GK is scored separately with no negative marking.
Is there negative marking for unattempted questions in XAT?
Yes. In Part 1, the first eight unattempted questions carry no penalty, and each further unattempted question costs 0.10 marks.
Is the 8-question unattempted allowance per section?
No. It applies to Part 1 as a whole, across VALR, Decision Making and QA & DI.
Is GK counted in the XAT percentile?
No. GK marks are not used for the XAT percentile or shortlisting cut-off. XLRI considers them later in its selection process.
Is there negative marking in XAT GK?
No. Wrong and unattempted GK questions carry no penalty.
What is the maximum score in XAT?
Part 1 carries 75 marks under the XAT 2026 pattern, and GK carries 20 marks, reported separately.
Should I guess or leave questions blank in XAT?
Within your first eight blanks, skipping costs nothing. Beyond eight, a blank costs 0.10 while a blind guess has an expected value of zero, so guessing, especially after eliminating an option, is usually the better choice.
When is XAT 2027?
XAT 2027 is on 3 January 2027, from 2 pm to 5 pm. Registration closes on 6 December 2026.
Is my calculated XAT score my final score?
It is a raw estimate. Your official result reports scores and percentiles after XLRI's evaluation, and the final answer key may change a few answers.
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