A negative marking calculator works out score = correct answers x marks per question minus wrong answers x penalty per wrong answer, so 64 correct and 20 wrong in a 1 mark paper with 0.25 negative marking gives 64 - 5 = 59. Unattempted questions score zero in every exam listed here.
The calculator above accepts any scheme: enter how many questions there are, what a correct reply earns, what an error costs, and your counts. Below you will find what 1/3, 1/4 and 0.25 marking really mean, a table of the current schemes of major Indian exams with a dedicated calculator for each, and the plain arithmetic of when a guess is worth the risk.
At a glance
Formula
Score = correct x marks - wrong x penaltyBlank answers
Zero, no penalty1/3 marking
Lose a third of the question's marks (RRB, GATE MCQ, UPSC)1/4 marking
Lose a quarter of the marks (JEE Main, NEET, SSC CGL Tier 1)0.25 marking
Lose 0.25 marks per wrong answer, whatever the question is worthGuessing breaks even
When your chance of being right equals penalty / (marks + penalty)
Score = (correct x marks per question) - (wrong x minus per wrong)
Correct and wrong are counts from your response sheet. Marks per question and minus per wrong come from the exam notice. Questions you leave blank add nothing and take nothing away.
Using the negative marking calculator above
The tool opens with one block called Your exam. Fill in five boxes:
- Questions: the total in the paper or section, for example 100.
- Marks per correct: 1, 2, 2.5, 4 or whatever the notice says.
- Minus per wrong: the penalty as a number. For 1/3 of 1 mark type 0.3333; for 1/3 of 2 marks type 0.6667; for 0.25 type 0.25.
- Correct and Wrong: your counts. Leave the rest as unattempted.
The result panel shows your expected score out of the maximum, the marks lost to negative marking and your accuracy (correct divided by attempted). If correct plus wrong is more than the questions, it asks you to check the counts.
- Find the marks per question and the penalty in your exam notice.
- Count correct, wrong and unattempted answers from your response sheet.
- Enter the questions, marks and penalty in the calculator above.
- Enter your correct and wrong counts.
- Read the score, the marks lost to negatives and your accuracy.
1/3, 1/4 and 0.25 negative marking explained
Notices describe penalties in two different ways, and mixing them up is the most common error.
- A fraction of the question's marks. 1/3 negative marking means each error takes away a third of the question's value. In a 1 mark RRB question that is 0.3333. In a 2 mark UPSC GS question it is 0.6667. In a 2.5 mark CSAT question it is 0.8333.
- A fixed number of marks. 0.25 negative marking means each wrong answer costs exactly 0.25, whether the question is worth 1 mark or 2. In SSC GD a question is worth 2 marks, so 0.25 is only one eighth of it. In SSC CPO Paper I a question is worth 1 mark, so 0.25 is one quarter.
| Label in the notice | Question worth 1 | Question worth 2 | Question worth 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/3 of the marks | 0.3333 | 0.6667 | 1.3333 |
| 1/4 of the marks | 0.25 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 0.25 marks | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| 0.5 marks | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Used as a 1/3 negative marking calculator, the tool needs 0.3333 per wrong answer for 1 mark questions; as a 0.33 negative marking calculator, type 0.33 only if the notice prints that figure. A 1/4 negative marking calculator and a 0.25 negative marking calculator give the same answer only when each question is worth 1 mark. JEE Main and NEET are 1/4 marking at 4 marks a question, which is why a wrong answer there costs a full mark.
Negative marking in major Indian exams
| Exam | Marking | Penalty as a share of the marks | Paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| JEE Main Paper 1 | +4 / -1 (MCQ and numerical) | 1/4 | 75 questions, 300 marks |
| NEET UG | +4 / -1 | 1/4 | 180 questions, 720 marks |
| JEE Advanced | Changes by section; -1 or -2 in recent papers | Varies | Set the scheme from your paper |
| GATE | MCQ -1/3 (1 mark), -2/3 (2 marks); MSQ and NAT none | 1/3 | 65 questions, 100 marks |
| UPSC prelims GS I / CSAT | +2 / -0.67 and +2.5 / -0.83 | 1/3 | 200 marks each paper |
| CUET UG | +5 / -1 | 1/5 | 50 questions, 250 per paper |
| UGC NET | +2, no negative | None | 150 questions, 300 marks |
| SSC CGL Tier 1 | +2 / -0.5 | 1/4 | 100 questions, 200 marks |
| SSC CHSL Tier 1 | +2 / -0.5 | 1/4 | 100 questions, 200 marks |
| SSC GD Constable | +2 / -0.25 | 1/8 | 80 questions, 160 marks |
| SSC exams in general | CPO Paper I +1 / -0.25; CGL Tier 2 and MTS Session II +3 / -1 | 1/4 or 1/3 | Varies by paper |
| RRB NTPC CBT 1 and 2 | +1 / -1/3 | 1/3 | 100 or 120 marks |
| RRB Group D | +1 / -1/3 | 1/3 | 100 questions, 100 marks |
| MHT CET | No negative; Maths 2 marks each | None | 200 marks |
| AP and TS EAPCET | +1, no negative | None | 160 questions, 160 marks |
The schemes above follow the latest notices and bulletins we checked. The RRB and EAPCET patterns come from consistent recent sources rather than a notice we could open, so confirm them in your own notice. For JEE Advanced the instructions on exam day are final, since the pattern changes from paper to paper. Each exam name links to a calculator that already knows its sections and marks.
When does guessing pay? The expected value of a guess
A guess has two outcomes. With chance p you gain the marks; otherwise you lose the penalty. On average a guess is worth p x marks minus (1 - p) x penalty. If that is above zero, guessing adds marks over many questions; if it is zero, it only adds risk.
| Scheme | Blind guess (1 in 4) | One option ruled out (1 in 3) | Two ruled out (1 in 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 / -1/3 (RRB, GATE 1 mark MCQ) | 0 | +0.11 | +0.33 |
| +2 / -2/3 (UPSC GS I) | 0 | +0.22 | +0.67 |
| +2.5 / -0.83 (CSAT) | 0 | +0.28 | +0.83 |
| +4 / -1 (JEE Main, NEET) | +0.25 | +0.67 | +1.5 |
| +2 / -0.5 (SSC CGL, CHSL Tier 1) | +0.125 | +0.33 | +0.75 |
| +5 / -1 (CUET UG) | +0.5 | +1.0 | +2.0 |
| +2 / -0.25 (SSC GD) | +0.31 | +0.5 | +0.88 |
| +1 / -0.25 (SSC CPO Paper I) | +0.06 | +0.17 | +0.38 |
Two lessons follow. Under 1/3 marking a pure blind guess is worth nothing on average, but ruling out even one option tips it in your favour. Under 1/4 marking or lighter, even a blind guess has a small positive average. The break even chance is penalty divided by (marks + penalty): 1 in 4 for 1/3 marking, 1 in 5 for 1/4 marking.
This is an average over many questions, not a promise for any single one. It also assumes the options you ruled out really are wrong. In JEE Main, ties are broken partly by the ratio of wrong to correct attempts, so careless guesses can cost you there too.
Worked examples with real schemes
UPSC prelims GS Paper I. 68 correct, 24 wrong. 68 x 2 = 136. Penalty 24 x 2/3 = 16. Score 120 out of 200.
CSAT Paper II. 38 correct, 14 wrong. 38 x 2.5 = 95. Penalty 14 x 0.8333 = 11.67. Score 83.33, above the qualifying 66.
RRB NTPC CBT 1. 72 correct, 18 wrong. 72 - 18 / 3 = 72 - 6 = 66 out of 100.
SSC GD. 58 correct, 16 wrong. 58 x 2 = 116. Penalty 16 x 0.25 = 4. Score 112 out of 160.
Notice the rounding trap in the UPSC case. If you type 0.66 as the penalty instead of 0.6667, 24 wrong answers cost 15.84 instead of 16, and your score shows 120.16. Use four decimals for any 1/3 based penalty. To use the tool as a UPSC negative marks calculator for GS Paper I, enter 100 questions, 2 marks and 0.6667 minus; for a UPSC CSAT negative marking calculator, run it again with 80 questions, 2.5 marks and 0.8333 minus. For full UPSC detail see the UPSC prelims marks calculator.
State PSC and other exams not listed
Exams such as MPSC, UPPSC and CGPSC prelims, state police recruitment and teacher eligibility tests each publish their own penalty, and it can change between notifications. This page does not list those schemes because we have not checked their latest notices. To use the tool as an MPSC negative marking calculator, or for UPPSC and CGPSC, open the notification, find the line on negative marking, and type it into the calculator above. If the notice states the penalty as a fraction, turn it into a number for your question value first, using the table in the section on 1/3 and 1/4 marking.
For pages already set up for a particular paper, start from the exam table above.
Counting correct and wrong answers
The score is only as good as the counts you enter. Use the official response sheet, not your memory of the paper, and compare it with the provisional answer key question by question. Our response sheet marks calculator page walks through reading both documents and tallying correct, wrong and unattempted answers. If a question is later dropped, follow the rule in the final key notice; in NEET UG, for example, every candidate gets full marks for a dropped question.
After the raw score, two other steps often follow. Multi shift exams convert raw scores to a percentile or a normalised score; the JEE Main percentile calculator page explains the NTA method. State counselling based on board marks uses a separate formula, covered in the cut off calculator.
Negative marking mistakes and fixes
| Mistake | What goes wrong | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Typing 0.33 for 1/3 | The score creeps up slightly with many wrong answers | Type 0.3333, or 0.6667 for 2 mark questions |
| Reading 0.25 as one quarter in every paper | In 2 mark papers 0.25 is one eighth | Check the marks per question first |
| Counting marked for review as attempted | A question marked for review with no answer scores 0 | Count only saved answers |
| Using one scheme for all sections | GATE MSQ and NAT carry no penalty, for example | Split the paper into sections |
| Taking the expected value as a promise | Any single guess can still lose marks | Guess only after ruling out options |
Questions students ask
How do I calculate marks with negative marking?
Take correct answers times the marks each question carries, take wrong answers times the penalty, and subtract. Blank answers count as zero.
What does 1/3 negative marking mean?
A wrong answer costs one third of the marks the question carries. For a 1 mark question that is 0.3333, so every three errors wipe out one correct reply. RRB exams, GATE MCQs and UPSC prelims use this rule.
What is 1/4 negative marking?
A wrong answer costs a quarter of the question's marks. In JEE Main and NEET, each question carries 4 marks, so a wrong answer costs 1 mark. In SSC CGL Tier 1, each question carries 2 marks, so it costs 0.5.
Is 0.25 negative marking the same as 1/4?
Only when each question carries 1 mark. A penalty of 0.25 marks in SSC GD, whose questions carry 2 marks each, is one eighth of the question value.
How does the UPSC prelims negative marking calculator work?
GS Paper I gives 2 marks per correct answer and takes 0.6667 per wrong one; CSAT gives 2.5 and takes 0.8333. Only GS Paper I counts for the cut off, and CSAT needs 66 out of 200 to qualify.
Should I guess in an exam with negative marking?
Under 1/3 marking a blind guess on four options is worth zero on average, but ruling out one option makes it positive. Under 1/4 marking or lighter, the average is positive even for a blind guess. The average is not a promise for any single question.
How is 0.33 negative marking calculated?
0.33 is a rounded form of one third. Multiply your wrong answers by 0.3333 for 1 mark questions. If the notice really says 0.33, use exactly 0.33.
Does the NEET negative marking calculator work for dropped questions?
For a dropped question NEET gives 4 marks to every candidate. Count that question as correct for everyone, then apply +4 and -1 to the rest.