What is negative marking?
Negative marking is a scoring method used in some exams where marks are deducted for incorrect answers. Usually, you earn marks for each correct answer, while a fixed fraction of those marks is subtracted for every wrong answer. Questions you leave unanswered generally do not add or subtract any marks.
The exact penalty can vary from one exam to another, so always check the official marking instructions before calculating your score.
Frequently asked questions
- What is 1/4 (0.25) negative marking?
- E.g. a 100 marks, 50 question exam gives 2 marks/question, so the penalty is 2 × 1/4 = 0.50 marks. With Your 40 correct and 10 wrong: (40 × 2) − (10 × 0.50) = 80 − 5 = 75 marks.
- how to calculate 1/3 negative marking?
- E.g. a 100 marks, 50 question exam gives 2 marks/question, so the penalty is 2 × 1/3 = 0.6667 marks. With your 40 correct and 10 wrong: (40 × 2) − (10 × 0.6667) = 80 − 6.67 = 73.33 marks.
- What is 1/2 negative marking?
- E.g. a 100 marks, 50-question exam gives 2 marks/question, so the penalty is 2 × 1/2 = 1 marks. With your 35 correct and 8 wrong: (35 × 2) − (8 × 1) = 70 − 8 = 62 marks.
- What does 1/1 (full negative marking) mean?
- Every wrong answer costs the full marks of that question. the same as the marks you'd gain for a correct answer. It's the strictest scheme, so guessing is never advisable unless you're fully certain.