Checked 30 September 2026. Low for the 3 January 2027 sitting: the marking is printed on xatonline.in and in the linked overview. The home page calls the question counts "expected", and XLRI has changed the pattern before, so re-check the marking box on xatonline.in before each cycle.
In XAT 2027 a right answer earns +1, a wrong answer costs -0.25, the first 8 questions you leave blank cost nothing, and every question you leave blank after the 8th costs -0.10. The General Knowledge part carries no negative marking and does not count towards your percentile at all. Those four rules decide how you should treat a question you are unsure of, and they are less forgiving of blanks than many candidates assume: from the 9th blank onwards, even a pure guess is worth more on average than leaving the question alone. This guide sets out the official marking, gives a calculator for your net score, and works through what a guess is worth. ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of XLRI Jamshedpur, which conducts XAT for the Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI), nor of any institute that uses XAT scores. Every rule here is quoted or summarised from xatonline.in, xlri.ac.in or the institute's own admission page, and they decide every case.
XAT home page and the linked XAT overview. The exam is on Sunday 3 January 2027, 2:00 to 5:00 PM.
Where other pages get this wrong
Each unattempted question after the 8th costs 0.10 marks, not 0.05.
Commonly published instead: Some pages, and our own XAT exam record until it is corrected, still say -0.05 per unattempted question beyond 8, and describe a 101-question paper with an essay.
The XAT home page says: "You can skip up to 8 questions without any penalty. For each question skipped after the 8th one, a penalty of 0.1 marks per question will be applied." The linked overview prints -0.10 marks under Part 1. The 2027 paper has 95 questions and no essay.
The official marking, part by part
XAT 2027 is one computer-based paper of about 95 questions in English, each a multiple-choice question with five options and one correct answer. It is split into two parts that are timed separately and marked differently.
| Item | Part 1 (VA&LR, DM, QA&DI) | Part 2 (GK) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right answer | +1 | +1 | Home page, overview |
| Wrong answer | -0.25 | 0 (no negative marking) | Home page, overview |
| Blanks 1 to 8 | 0 | 0 | Home page, overview |
| Each blank after the 8th | -0.10 | Not stated for GK (see scope below) | Overview (Part 1); home page (unscoped) |
| Questions | About 75 (26 + 21 + 28) | About 20 (8 static, 12 current affairs) | Home page |
| Time | 170 minutes, no sectional limits | 10 minutes | Home page, FAQ, instructions |
| Counts towards percentile | Yes | No; used only by XLRI in its own selection | Home page |
Part 1 locks automatically at the 170th minute and Part 2 opens, according to the instructions linked on the site. Inside Part 1 there are no sectional time limits: you may begin with any section and move between them as often as you like. The FAQ says an on-screen scientific calculator is available in the exam interface; the instructions say the on-screen calculator is available in the QA&DI section. Physical calculators are not allowed.
Work out your net score
XAT net-score and skip-penalty calculator
Enter how many Part 1 questions you answered right and wrong (from a mock, or your own estimate). The calculator applies the official marking: +1 for a right answer, -0.25 for a wrong one, nothing for the first 8 questions left blank, and -0.10 for every blank after the 8th. GK is shown on its own line because it carries no negative marking and does not count towards the percentile.
Our arithmetic on the marking printed on xatonline.in. It is not an XLRI score and says nothing about the percentile, which XLRI computes and does not explain. We apply the skip penalty to Part 1 only, as the XAT overview does; see the section on scope.
The same arithmetic, worked for four candidates who each face 75 Part 1 questions. These are illustrations of the marking, not predictions of any percentile.
| Right | Wrong | Left blank | Wrong-answer loss | Skip penalty | Part 1 net score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 15 | 20 | -3.75 | 12 × 0.10 = -1.20 | 35.05 |
| 45 | 20 | 10 | -5.00 | 2 × 0.10 = -0.20 | 39.80 |
| 35 | 10 | 30 | -2.50 | 22 × 0.10 = -2.20 | 30.30 |
| 50 | 25 | 0 | -6.25 | 0 | 43.75 |
What a guess is worth on a five-option question
Because every XAT question has five options, a pure guess is right one time in five. One right answer (+1) against four wrong ones (4 × -0.25 = -1) cancels out exactly, so the expected value of a blind guess is zero. Every option you can rule out moves that value above zero. A blank is worth zero only while you are within your first 8; after that it is a certain -0.10. The table below is our arithmetic on the official marking.
| Your position | Chance of being right | Expected marks |
|---|---|---|
| Blind guess (0 of 4 wrong options ruled out) | 1 in 5 (20%) | 0.00 |
| 1 wrong option ruled out | 1 in 4 (25%) | +0.0625 |
| 2 wrong options ruled out | 1 in 3 (33%) | +0.1667 |
| 3 wrong options ruled out | 1 in 2 (50%) | +0.375 |
| Left blank, one of your first 8 | None | 0.00 |
| Left blank, 9th or later | None | -0.10 (certain) |
Two things follow. Within your first 8 blanks, a blind guess and a blank are worth the same on average, so there is no mark to be gained by guessing blindly, only more uncertainty; guess only when you can rule out at least one option. From the 9th blank onwards the comparison changes: a blind guess averages 0 and a blank is a certain -0.10, so answering is the better bet on average even when you know nothing. This is expected value, averaged over many questions. On any single question a guess can still cost you 0.25, and that is a choice for you to make, not a rule of the exam.
How much leaving questions blank costs
The skip penalty grows slowly, which is why it is easy to ignore, but it is a certain loss that a candidate with a few spare seconds at the end of Part 1 can avoid. Our arithmetic on the 0.10 rule:
| Part 1 questions left blank | Blanks past the free 8 | Marks lost to the skip penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 10 | 2 | 0.20 |
| 12 | 4 | 0.40 |
| 15 | 7 | 0.70 |
| 20 | 12 | 1.20 |
| 25 | 17 | 1.70 |
| 30 | 22 | 2.20 |
| 35 | 27 | 2.70 |
A candidate who leaves 30 questions blank loses 2.2 marks for nothing. In an exam where coaching sites report the 95th percentile at somewhere in the low to high 30s of raw marks (see below), two marks is not a rounding error. Our reading, not XLRI advice: plan your last few minutes of Part 1 so that no question past your 8th blank is left untouched, and mark the ones you guessed so you can see afterwards whether the habit paid.
Does the skip penalty apply to GK?
The two official statements do not use the same words. The XAT overview puts both the -0.25 and the -0.10 under the heading for Part 1 and says of Part 2 that there is no negative marking. The home page states the 8-free rule without saying which part it applies to, and then says the GK section has no negative markings. We read the two together as Part 1 only, which is what the calculator above does, but the home page does not say so in terms. If XLRI publishes a 2027 overview that settles the point, this guide will follow it.
GK: marked, but outside your percentile
GK is 20 questions in 10 minutes, about 8 on static general knowledge and 12 on current affairs. It carries no negative marking. The home page says it "will not contribute to your overall percentile or cutoff score but will be considered in the selection process (only for XLRI programs)", and the overview says GK is used exclusively by XLRI for its final selection. So for any institute other than XLRI, your GK marks do not matter to your XAT result. For XLRI they matter only at the final stage, and XLRI does not say by how much.
With no negative marking, there is no reason to leave a GK question unanswered. The 10 minutes are short, and Part 2 opens only when Part 1 closes, so you cannot bank time from GK for Part 1 or the other way round.
From net score to percentile: what is and is not published
XAT is a single-slot exam. The home page says this "ensures fairness and no normalization bias", meaning no scaling between sessions of the kind CAT uses. The official XAT 2024 paper on the same site is headed Shift 2, which we cannot reconcile with a single slot from the documents alone; the 2027 statement is the one to go by for 2027.
XLRI publishes no method for turning a net score into a percentile and no score-to-percentile table. Coaching sites publish ranges, and they disagree. Careers360 reports that about 35 to 37 raw marks has corresponded to the 95th percentile; Testbook reports about 32 to 35. Both are reported figures, not XLRI data, and the percentile depends on how everyone else scored that year. Use them only as a rough sense of scale.
| What you want | Published by XLRI? | What exists |
|---|---|---|
| Raw score to percentile table | No | Reported ranges only: 95th percentile about 35-37 (Careers360) or 32-35 (Testbook) |
| Result date for XAT 2027 | No date | FAQ: about three weeks after the exam. XAT 2026 (exam 4 Jan 2026) was declared on 16 Jan 2026 (reported by Testbook) |
| Sectional cut-offs | No | Coaching-site tables that disagree with each other (see the cut-offs guide) |
| Answer key | None for past papers on xatonline.in | Seven past papers, 2018-2024, without keys |
Practise it, don't just read it
Five-option questions punish guessing less than you may think and blanks more. Practise answering under that rule, not under a four-option habit.
One XAT quiz is live on ProSyllabus today: Reading Comprehension Inference Questions Fundamentals, 10 questions. Its questions carry four options where the real XAT paper has five, so treat it as reading practice, not as a mock of the 95-question paper.
A note on our own content: the XAT exam record on ProSyllabus still carries the older description (101 questions, an essay and -0.05 per blank). This guide follows the XAT 2027 pages; the record is being corrected separately.
What is the XAT 2027 marking scheme?
+1 for a right answer, -0.25 for a wrong answer in Part 1, no penalty for the first 8 questions left blank, and -0.10 for each blank after the 8th. GK in Part 2 has no negative marking.
Is the XAT skip penalty 0.05 or 0.10?
0.10. The XAT home page says a penalty of 0.1 marks per question applies for each question skipped after the 8th, and the linked overview prints -0.10 marks.
How many questions can I leave blank in XAT without a penalty?
Eight. From the 9th unattempted question onwards, each one costs 0.10 marks.
Is it better to guess or skip in XAT?
On our arithmetic, a blind guess on a five-option question has an expected value of zero. Within your first 8 blanks that equals a blank; from the 9th blank onwards it beats the certain -0.10 of leaving it. Any option you can rule out makes a guess worth more.
Does GK count in the XAT percentile?
No. The home page says GK will not contribute to the overall percentile or cut-off score but will be considered in selection for XLRI programmes only.
Is there negative marking in XAT GK?
No. GK questions carry no negative marking.
How many options does each XAT question have?
Five, with one correct answer, according to the instructions linked on xatonline.in.
What raw score gives a 95 percentile in XAT?
XLRI does not publish a table. Coaching sites report different ranges, about 35-37 (Careers360) and about 32-35 (Testbook). Treat both as rough reported figures.
Sources
- official — XAT home page (xatonline.in) — XAT 2027 dates, pattern table (VA&LR 26, DM 21, QA&DI 28, GK 20), marking (+1, -0.25, 0.1 per skip after the 8th), GK outside the percentile, 250+ B-schools, 100+ cities, single slot, new associates and XAMI member
- official — XAT 2026 Overview (linked as the 2027 overview) — section descriptions, Part 1 and Part 2 marking, skip penalty under Part 1, GK used exclusively by XLRI, PwD 20 minutes per hour
- official — Important Instructions for XAT 2026 (linked as the 2027 instructions) — 95 questions, five options, English only, Part 1 170 minutes and locks automatically, Part 2 GK 10 minutes, calculator in QA&DI, PwD timings
- official — XAT FAQ — admit card 20 Dec 2026 (tentative), result about three weeks after the exam, no sectional time limits, on-screen scientific calculator, final-year dates, work-experience rules, separate XLRI application, BM covers both campuses
- official — Official XAT 2024 question paper (header: 7 Jan 2024, Shift 2; order QA&DI, DM, VA&LR)
- reported — Careers360 — XAT cut-off: XLRI BM and HRM 2026 figures by category and section, "expected" figures for other institutes, a raw-score range for the 95th percentile (reported)
- reported — Testbook — XAT result 2026: declared 16 January 2026; a raw-score range for the 95th percentile (reported)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
