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Illustration by
Gynelle
Alvis | The only
thing that's constant in life, they say, is change. As
the business environment around us changes, so do the
expectations from business managers. And since the
entrance test is the first step in selecting potential
managers, it just cannot remain static.
Another
reason why management entrance exams exhibit changes
over the years is the fact that they cannot afford to
become completely predictable.
Most of the major
entrance tests, particularly the CAT (the test for
selection into the IIMs and other B-schools), have shown
some clear trends over the last few years. We look at
these in some detail below.
Change in
math questions type
Most exams have
clearly moved away from math problems involving
extensive use of formulae and paperwork. The trend is
towards problems where the concept on which the problem
is based is simple, and which most candidates are likely
to be familiar with.
What we find in entrance
exams today are intelligent math problems based on basic
math concepts such as number properties, percentages,
ratios, averages etc.
A candidate can no longer
rely on memorising standard formulae but has to have a
strong foundation in the topic, coupled with the ability
to apply his mind impromptu to innovative questions.
Reduced stress on
calculations
The new pattern shows a
very clear shift away from tedious and time consuming
calculation based questions.
Interpreting the
problem is often more difficult than actually solving
it.
Once you have figured out how the problem is to
be tackled ('cracked' the question, as students love to
say), the calculation part will, in most cases, be a
mere formality. Even when calculations are involved, the
options given will allow a candidate to approximate his
answer, rather than accurately working it out.
Less weight on vocabulary, grammar
The weightage given to vocabulary-based
questions is low. Exams like the CAT do not test
vocabulary at all.
Other exams like the XAT,
MAT, NMAT do have a few vocabulary based questions
though. Grammar is tested by almost all major exams, but
not exhaustively. In other words, one does not have to
be a grammarian to be able to answer correctly.
The syntactical errors that one has to spot are
commonly occurring errors. It is easy to prepare for
these types of errors and identifying them is not a
problem.
Emphasis on logical thinking
skills
Most exams like the CAT, NMAT,
ATMA, MAT and CET test logical thinking in a very big
way. Even some of the math-based problems in these tests
now have a logical element built into them.
This
development again is consistent with the fact that math
questions are moving away from intensive calculations.
More stress on General Awareness
General awareness is no longer tested
only at the second stage (interviews) but in the written
test itself. Exams like XAT, MAT, FMS entrance and
SCMHRD entrance have around 20 per cent to 25 per cent
of the paper in the form of General Awareness questions.
In a highly competitive environment, a potential
candidate cannot merely be intelligent; he also needs to
be well versed with developments around him, especially
in the business world.
One exception to this
trend is the CAT, which till last year did not have any
awareness questions in the paper.
Besides these
factors, changes in the entrance tests also come about
in the form of a change in format of the paper (CAT and
NMAT have changed their format in the last few years),
change in the marking system (JMET did not have negative
marking until last year) and a change in the length or
duration of the paper (CAT and NMAT are examples of this
trend).
Year after year, leading B-schools will
continue to modify and update their entrance tests. And
candidates, likewise, will have to constantly update
their skills.
Murtuza Gadiwala is the
founder director, SharpMinds. He can be contacted on
(022) 26237471. |
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