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Negative Marking Calculator
A mock test gives you a count of right and wrong answers. With negative marking, those counts are not yet your score, because each wrong answer takes marks back. Enter the attempts, pick the exam or the penalty, and the deduction used on that paper is applied for you.
The patterns below are the ones candidates actually meet: UPSC Prelims and CSAT, NEET, JEE Main, SSC, banking, railways, and MPSC, plus a custom penalty when the notification prints something else. The sum runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Exam and attempts
Pick a paper, or set the penalty yourself
Ratio buttons keep the fraction exact. One-third of a 2-mark question is 2/3, not 0.33 typed in as the deduction.
How to use it
- Choose the exam, or choose the fraction. The short row covers UPSC GS, CSAT, NEET, SSC CGL, bank, RRB, JEE, and MPSC. The menu has the rest, including SSC GD, GATE MCQs, NDA, and CLAT.
- Check the marks. Total questions and marks per correct answer should match your paper. Maximum marks update on their own. If you only know the paper total, edit that field and the marks per question will follow.
- Enter the attempts. Type how many you attempted, then either the correct count or the wrong count. The other figure is attempted minus that number. Blank questions are total minus attempted.
- Read the score next to the break-even line. Above the line, this attempt level is still adding marks. Below it, the wrong answers are costing more than the correct ones are earning at that hit rate.
How the score is calculated
Every correct answer is worth the same on a given row. That value is the paper’s maximum marks divided by the number of questions, which is what “marks per correct answer” already is. A wrong answer deducts a fraction of that value. A question you do not attempt scores zero.
Net score = (correct × marks) − (wrong × marks × fraction)Break-even accuracy = 1 ÷ (1 + fraction) × 100
Break-even accuracy is not a target to admire. It is the hit rate, among questions you actually attempt, where the penalty stops eating the gain. For a one-third penalty it is 75%. For a one-fourth penalty it is 80%. For the one-eighth penalty used on SSC GD it is 88.89%, which is why a “small” deduction can still be strict.
Marks per attempt is the net score divided by the questions you attempted. A positive number means those attempts added marks. A negative number means the paper would have scored higher if those attempts had been left blank.
Worked examples
These are the same figures the sample button fills, so you can match them on the calculator. Skipped questions are total minus attempted, and they do not appear in the sum.
| Paper | Attempts | Sum | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPSC Prelims GS | 80 attempted, 62 correct, 18 wrong | (62 × 2) − (18 × 2/3) | 112 / 200 |
| SSC CGL Tier 1 | 86 attempted, 74 correct, 12 wrong | (74 × 2) − (12 × 0.5) | 142 / 200 |
| NEET UG | 170 attempted, 140 correct, 30 wrong | (140 × 4) − (30 × 1) | 530 / 720 |
The UPSC row is 77.5% accurate, above the 75% line for a one-third penalty, so those 80 attempts are still helping. The SSC row is 86.05% accurate, above the 80% line for a one-fourth penalty. The NEET row is 82.35% accurate, also above its 80% line, with a thinner margin: five more wrong answers, and no new correct ones, would land it on that line.
One-third marking, including 0.33
One-third means the deduction is a third of whatever the question is worth. People also write that fraction as 0.33. Multiplying wrong answers by 0.33 is right only when the question carries 1 mark, which is the usual RRB and BPSC case. On UPSC GS the question is worth 2, so the deduction is 2/3. Using 0.33 there would take off about half of the real penalty and overstate the score.
UPSC Prelims
GS Paper I is 100 questions, 200 marks, +2 and −2/3. The break-even line is 75%, which is another way of saying that three wrong answers wipe out one correct answer. A four-option blind guess has an expected value of about zero on this penalty. A guess after two options are gone is worth about +0.67 marks on average.
UPSC CSAT
CSAT is 80 questions for 200 marks, so each question is 2.5, and the penalty is still one-third: 2.5/3, which is 5/6 of a mark, about 0.83. The paper is qualifying. The penalty is not switched off because of that. Score it on its own row rather than reusing the GS marks.
Railways and similar papers
RRB NTPC and Group D CBT papers commonly award 1 mark and deduct one-third, so the 0.33 figure and the deduction are the same number. BPSC prelims are widely conducted the same way, on 150 questions. The fraction decides the break-even line. The mark value decides the score.
One-fourth marking, including 0.25
One-fourth is the fraction. 0.25 is the deduction only when the question is worth 1 mark. The same rule shows up as three different numbers:
- Banking prelims (IBPS and SBI). +1 and −0.25. Here 0.25 really is the mark that comes off.
- SSC CGL and CHSL Tier 1. +2 and −0.50. The fraction is still one-fourth. Conversation often calls this 0.25 negative marking, which describes the fraction, not the 0.50 on the answer key.
- NEET UG and JEE Main. +4 and −1. One-fourth of 4 is 1. Break-even accuracy is 80% on all three, because the fraction is the same.
MPSC
Maharashtra Rajyaseva prelims follow a one-fourth penalty in the notices candidates usually meet. This page’s MPSC row uses 2 marks per question and a 0.5 deduction, which is that rule on a 200-mark paper. State commissions reprint the scheme in each advertisement. If the mark value differs and the fraction does not, change the marks per correct answer and leave the 1/4 button selected. If the fraction itself differs, select the fraction the advertisement prints.
SSC and banking also normalise raw marks across shifts. The number here is the score from your attempts. It is not the normalised merit mark and it is not a percentile.
Penalty by exam
These are the schemes the menu fills in. They follow the patterns commissions have been printing. A new notification wins over this table. Edit the fields when it does.
| Exam | Correct | Wrong | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPSC Prelims GS | +2 | −2/3 | 75% |
| UPSC CSAT | +2.5 | −5/6 | 75% |
| NEET UG | +4 | −1 | 80% |
| JEE Main | +4 | −1 | 80% |
| SSC CGL / CHSL Tier 1 | +2 | −0.50 | 80% |
| SSC GD | +2 | −0.25 (1/8) | 88.89% |
| IBPS / SBI | +1 | −0.25 | 80% |
| RRB NTPC / Group D | +1 | −1/3 | 75% |
| MPSC prelims | +2 | −0.50 | 80% |
| BPSC prelims | +1 | −1/3 | 75% |
| GATE 2-mark MCQ | +2 | −2/3 | 75% |
| NDA Mathematics | +2.5 | −5/6 | 75% |
| CLAT UG | +1 | −0.25 | 80% |
GATE numerical-answer questions and multiple-select questions usually carry no penalty. Do not mix them into an MCQ count — use theGATE marks calculatorwhen you have a full response sheet. SSC MTS Session I, in the recent scheme, also has no penalty: use “No penalty” for that paper, and the Session II row for the second one. CUET sections are often +5 and −1, which is one-fifth, and the question count depends on the subject.
How to read the result
- Accuracy against the break-even line. Accuracy here is correct ÷ attempted, not correct ÷ total questions. Leaving a question blank does not lower accuracy. Getting it wrong does.
- The room for more mistakes. The note under the score says how many extra wrong answers you could add, with no new correct ones, before you land on the break-even line. That is the practical version of the percentage.
- A guess is an average. The four-option line is the expected mark of many guesses, not a reason to attempt one question you cannot narrow down. On a one-third paper, eliminating two options is the point where the average turns in your favour.
Mistakes that change the score
- Multiplying wrong answers by 0.33 on a 2-mark paper. 0.33 is the fraction. The deduction is 0.33 times the marks per question. On UPSC GS that is 2/3.
- Counting blanks as wrong. A blank is not a wrong answer on these papers. Only an attempted wrong answer is penalised.
- Comparing the raw score with a normalised cutoff. SSC and bank results move marks across shifts. A raw 142 is not automatically the merit mark.
- One penalty for a mixed paper. GATE MCQs, numerical questions, and multiple-select questions are not marked the same way. Score the group that shares a rule.
This is not a college cutoff
A cutoff, in the Class 12 sense, turns subject marks into one merit mark out of 200. That is a different sum, and it lives on thecutoff calculator. This page starts from an objective paper: how many you got right, how many you got wrong, and what a wrong answer costs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How is negative marking calculated?
Net score = (correct answers × marks per correct answer) − (wrong answers × the deduction for each wrong answer). The deduction is usually a fraction of the marks for a correct answer: one-third, one-fourth, one-eighth, and so on. Questions you leave blank are left out of both parts. They do not add marks and they do not take marks away.
What does 1/3 or 0.33 negative marking mean?
One-third of the marks allotted to that question are deducted for a wrong answer. On a 2-mark question that is 2/3 of a mark, about 0.67, not 0.33. The figure 0.33 is the fraction, not the mark value, and it is the right deduction only when the question itself is worth 1 mark. Three wrong answers cancel one correct answer. UPSC Prelims, CSAT, and most RRB papers use this fraction. Break-even accuracy is 75%.
What does 1/4 or 0.25 negative marking mean?
One-fourth of the question’s marks are deducted. On a 1-mark bank question that is 0.25. On a 2-mark SSC question it is 0.50. On a NEET question worth 4 it is 1 mark. Four wrong answers cancel one correct answer. Break-even accuracy is 80%. People often call all three of these “0.25 negative marking” because the fraction is 0.25, even though the marks deducted are different.
How does UPSC Prelims negative marking work?
GS Paper I has 100 questions and 200 marks. A correct answer is +2 and a wrong answer deducts 2/3. Unattempted questions score zero. CSAT is a separate paper: 80 questions, 200 marks, +2.5, with the same one-third penalty. CSAT is qualifying. This page scores the paper you enter. It does not apply the qualifying cut-off and it does not predict a rank.
How does NEET negative marking work?
The current NEET UG pattern is 180 questions and 720 marks: +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong answer. Net score = (correct × 4) − (wrong × 1). The −1 is one-fourth of 4, so break-even accuracy is 80%. If the bulletin for your year changes the question count, edit the total so it matches the paper you wrote.
What negative marking does MPSC use?
Rajyaseva prelims, and several other Maharashtra papers, deduct one-fourth of the marks for a wrong answer. The MPSC row here uses 100 questions at 2 marks, so the paper is out of 200 and a wrong answer costs 0.5. If your advertisement says each question is 1 mark with a 0.25 deduction, change marks per correct answer to 1. The fraction stays one-fourth and break-even stays 80%. Follow the notification for the exam you are writing.
Do skipped questions lose marks?
On UPSC, NEET, SSC, banking, RRB, JEE Main, and the state papers listed on this page, a blank answer does not deduct marks. Only a wrong answer does. On a paper with no negative marking at all, such as recent SSC MTS Session I, a wrong answer also scores zero — skipping and getting it wrong then have the same effect on the total.
What is break-even accuracy?
It is the accuracy, among the questions you attempt, at which the penalty for the wrong ones exactly balances the marks from the correct ones. The formula is 1 ÷ (1 + the penalty fraction). One-third means 75%. One-fourth means 80%. One-eighth means about 88.9%. Above that line, attempts are still adding marks. Below it, extra wrong answers reduce the score.
Should I guess if I am not sure?
On a four-option question with a one-third penalty, a blind guess has an expected value of about zero: the marks you sometimes gain are cancelled by the marks you lose. Ruling out two options makes the expected value positive. A one-fourth penalty is slightly kinder to a blind guess on paper, but one lucky question is not the average. The line under your result uses the marks and the penalty you actually selected.
Will this match my official result?
It matches the raw formula: marks for correct answers, minus the penalty for wrong ones. It does not apply shift normalisation used by SSC and banking, a revised answer key, grace marks, or a rank. Treat it as the score from the attempts you typed, and check that year’s notice for the marking scheme.
What this page will not pretend
The fractions follow the marking schemes these exams have been conducting: one-third on UPSC and most railway papers, one-fourth on SSC Tier 1, banking, NEET, JEE Main, and typical MPSC prelims. A commission can change a scheme in the next notice. The calculator does the arithmetic in your browser — your attempts are not uploaded or stored. It does not normalise shifts, award a rank, or speak for UPSC, NTA, SSC, IBPS, or any state commission.
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