JEE Result 2026 will be declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) today on 20 April 2026 on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in. The declaration of JEE Main result always leads to a state of confusion among the candidates, many of whom cannot correlate their score with the result shown in the card. Students who score impressive marks are stunned by the fact that they have been included in the merit list due to the evaluation procedure used by the National Testing Agency.NTA does not evaluate students based on raw scores alone. Since there are multiple sittings of the exam, and each sitting may have a different level of difficulty, the NTA normalizes the assessment.The authorities maintain that this method eliminates any advantage or disadvantage arising from an easy or difficult question paper.
Raw Score vs. Percentile: The Key Distinction
Raw scores are the total marks obtained after factoring in correct answers and negative marks. However, this only reflects individual performance and does not account for how others performed in the same shift.On the other hand, percentage is a relative metric. It indicates the proportion of candidates who scored equal to or lower than a particular candidate in a given session. For example, the 95th percentile means that the candidate outperformed 95% of test takers in that particular shift.
The formula behind the percentile calculation
NTA converts raw scores to percentages using the standard statistical formula:Percentage = number of candidates with raw score ≤ candidate score × 100/total number of candidates in the session Percentiles are calculated to seven decimal places to minimize the ratio and ensure accuracy in ranking.
Why candidates with same marks get different percentile.
A common dilemma faced by most of the applicants is the percentage difference based on the marks obtained by the candidates. This is because the percentage depends on the particular session in which you have appeared for the test. It may happen that a certain percentile score of a candidate is higher than another candidate obtaining the same marks in a relatively easy session.
Impact on All India Rank (AIR).
The percentile becomes the decider of AIR, without which one cannot get admission in the best engineering colleges. A very slight change in percentages at the high end can make a huge difference in your ranking.In case of a tie in percentileNTA has set the following criteria for breaking ties:
- High percentage in Mathematics
- Next in Physics
- Then comes the chemistry.
- Finally, the age of the candidate
