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Set up negative marking and scoring rules
8 September 2026
Steps
1. Decide your marking scheme on paper first
Write down marks per correct answer, penalty per wrong answer, and what an unattempted question gets. Example — JNVST style +1.25 correct, no negative; many competitive exams +1 / −0.25.
2. Open your answer key's scoring settings
Go to Answer Keys, open the key for your booklet codes, and find the scoring/marking section.
3. Enter correct/wrong/unattempted values
Set marks for a correct answer, the penalty for a wrong one, and the value for unattempted questions (almost always 0). Match your paper exactly.
4. Test with one known sheet before the full batch
Run a small test batch with one or two sheets whose totals you have calculated by hand. Confirm the score matches, then process the full batch.
Different exams score differently — JNVST awards 1.25 marks per correct answer with no negative marking, while many competitive tests take 0.25 off per wrong answer. CheckOMR (By Navodaya Study) lets you configure the scheme before scoring, so the result sheet matches your exam exactly. This tutorial shows where the settings live and how to verify them safely.
Before you start
- Your marking scheme written down: marks per correct, penalty per wrong, value for unattempted.
- The answer key you plan to use (see Set up answer keys).
- One filled sheet whose total you have calculated by hand — this becomes your verification sheet.
Steps
1. Decide your marking scheme on paper first
Write down three numbers before touching the app:
- Correct — marks added per right answer (+1, +1.25, +2 …).
- Wrong — penalty subtracted per wrong answer (0 for no negative marking, −0.25, −0.33 …).
- Unattempted — value for blank questions (almost always 0).
Mixing these up is the most common scoring complaint — a batch scored with the wrong penalty looks "mathematically perfect and completely wrong".
2. Open your answer key's scoring settings
Go to Answer Keys, open the key for your booklet codes, and find the scoring/marking section. The scheme belongs to the key, so every batch using this key scores with the same rules.
3. Enter correct/wrong/unattempted values
Set the three values from step 1. Match your paper exactly — if your exam rounds differently or has section-wise rules, encode what your exam actually does, not what other exams do.
4. Test with one known sheet before the full batch
Take the sheet you calculated by hand. Create a small test batch with just that sheet, attach the key, process, and compare the totals. Match? Process the full batch. Off? Check the three values against your scheme — the difference pattern tells you which one is wrong (every answer off by the same amount → correct-marks value; score dropping with attempts → penalty applied when it shouldn't be).
Common schemes at a glance
| Scheme | Correct | Wrong | Unattempted |
|---|---|---|---|
| JNVST style | +1.25 | 0 | 0 |
| Standard negative | +1 | −0.25 | 0 |
| Heavy penalty | +2 | −0.66 | 0 |
What's next
- Set up answer keys — keys carry the scheme.
- Export results — scored sheets out to Excel and marked PDFs.