What does FNEGE say?
FNEGE, the test publisher, states on two of its pages that no points are deducted for an unanswered question and that an incorrect answer carries no points penalty. A wrong answer and a blank answer therefore cost the same: nothing.
It also says that correct answers earn points, without saying how many; those pages do not give a point value per question. Do not attribute to these sources a value for each correct answer that they do not provide.
| Step | What is published | What this lets you conclude |
|---|---|---|
| Correct answer | It earns points. | A correct answer contributes to the result, but these pages do not specify a value per question. |
| Wrong answer or blank | No points penalty. | Leaving a question blank does not protect you from losing points. |
| Three domains | Each domain is scored out of 60. | These pages do not explain how correct answers are converted into a domain score. |
| Overall score | The average of the three domain scores, multiplied by ten. | You cannot determine your official score from the number of correct answers alone. |
Should you really answer every question?
On the answer sheet, yes. Each question has five options, only one of which is correct. A blank cannot earn points; a random guess has a one-in-five chance of earning points and cannot cost you any. Leaving it blank does not protect your score; it only gives up a chance to score.
Its “Advice” page also recommends not trying to answer every question and skipping one you cannot solve. This follows its advice to manage your time, and the page does not discuss scoring: skipping a question does not mean leaving its answer blank.
Our test-day advice: save a few seconds at the end of each section to fill in any remaining answers. Check that they line up with the question numbers on the answer sheet.
The pitfall
Advice that does not apply to this scoring system
If a method, section guide, or worked solution tells you to leave answers blank to avoid losing points, that advice does not match the scoring rules published by FNEGE: under these rules, leaving an answer blank does not prevent any loss of points.
The FNEGE pages cited at the bottom of this page do not date this scoring system or describe an earlier one. Rely on those sources rather than advice with no known date or source.
What about the score out of 600?
The six sections form three aptitude domains, each with 30 questions and 40 minutes: Verbal Skills, Problem Solving, and Logical Reasoning. Each is scored out of 60, and the final score is their average multiplied by ten.
In the score out of 600, a weaker domain therefore counts as much as a stronger one; an institution may then apply its own weighting to the sections. The cited pages do not explain how correct answers are converted into a domain score, and FNEGE does not publish average scores by session.
The score calculation, in the TAGE MAGE guide GuideHow can you check advice about the scoring system?
An old guide says points are deducted for a wrong answer. Should you follow it? Not for this scoring rule. Compare its advice with FNEGE’s “Understanding Your Score” and FAQ pages: they currently state that there is no penalty. The document’s date alone is no substitute for checking.
A worked solution gives a score out of 600 based on the number of correct answers. Is that your official score? No. You can count correct answers to track your progress, but the cited pages do not provide the conversion needed to calculate an official score. Use your accuracy in each subtest as a study measure, without treating it as equivalent to a score out of 600.
Two schools convert the same score report differently. Is that a mistake? Not necessarily. FNEGE’s FAQ says each institution sets its own rules for converting scores to a grade out of 20 and may weight domains differently. Check the institution’s rules to understand its admissions score.
Key takeaways
- Do not leave any answers blank: doing so does not protect your score.
- Skip a question that is holding you up, then fill in the remaining answers before the section ends.
- Your final score is the average of three domain scores out of 60, multiplied by ten.
- Leaving an answer blank to avoid a penalty is not a valid strategy under the scoring rules published by FNEGE.