Attempt Strategy Calculator

Optimize how many questions to attempt based on your expected accuracy rate and negative marking penalty.

Accuracy & Attempt Optimization

Exam Scheme & Accuracy Profile

Enter your test structure, expected accuracy rate, and target score to model your optimal question volume.

Total QuestionsMarks Per QuestionYour Expected Accuracy (%)

Target Cutoff Score

Negative Marking Scheme

Fraction:/of question marks

Tactical Attempt Distribution

Question Allocation & Risk-Return Radar

POSITIVE EXPECTED GAIN (+1.33 pts/Q)

Danger Zone (<25.0% Acc)Your Accuracy: 75%Profitable Zone (>25.0% Acc)

Break-even 25.0%

Question Allocation (83 of 100 Questions)Total Paper: 100 Q

62 Correct

21 Wrong

17 Leave / Skip

Expected Correct: 62 Q (+124.0 marks)Expected Incorrect: 21 Q (−14.0 marks)Recommended Leave: 17 Q (Risk buffer)

Target Achieved with 83 Attempts (Expected Score: 110.7)Attempting 83 questions at 75% accuracy delivers an expected net score of 110.7 marks, meeting your target cutoff of 110. You can safely skip 17 high-risk questions.

Recommended Attempts83Out of 100 questions (83% coverage)

Expected Net Score110.7Target is 110 marks

Break-Even Accuracy25.0%+50.0% safety buffer

Leaving 10–15 dubious questions unattempted is often the difference between clearing the cutoff and missing out due to negative marks.

How Attempt Strategy & Break-Even Accuracy Work

Understand how expected value per attempt separates profitable questions from score erosion, and why guessing below break-even accuracy is mathematically harmful.

Small Steps Big Dreams ∞

Standard Exam Strategy Presets

Why Use This Attempt Strategy Calculator

Determine exact questions to attempt to reach your target score safely
Visual accuracy spectrum comparing your hit-rate to the break-even boundary
Question allocation bar showing optimal attempts, expected correct, and skips
Exposes expected gain per attempt: know when guessing is mathematically harmful
100% private, instant client-side computation with zero data retention

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Frequently Asked Questions

Expected Gain Per Attempt = (accuracy × marks) − ((1 − accuracy) × penalty per wrong). This is your net expected marks for each question you attempt. Recommended Attempts = ⌈Target Score / Expected Gain⌉, capped at total questions. If your expected gain per attempt is zero or negative, the recommendation is zero — attempting any question hurts your expected score.