It depends on the mock series. Some are deliberately harder, some easier, and the real paper's difficulty changes each year. Judge yourself by your percentile within a mock series and by your trend, not by the raw score alone.
There is no fixed answer, because mock series are set by different people with different goals, and the real exam varies year to year and even between shifts.
Why mocks differ from the real paper
- Harder mocks push you to work faster and expose weak topics, but can make scores look low.
- Easier mocks build confidence and rhythm, but can give false comfort.
- Real papers change pattern: a new question type in English, a heavier puzzle section, or an unusual DI.
How to read your score fairly
| Measure | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Percentile or rank in the same mock | Shows where you stand against people who faced the same paper |
| Five-mock average | Smooths out one easy or hard paper |
| Accuracy | Less affected by difficulty than raw score |
| Previous-year papers | The best guide to the real level |
Use previous-year papers as a reference
Solve a few memory-based previous papers under time. They show the real mix of question types and difficulty. If your score on them is much higher than on your mock series, your mocks are probably harder than the exam, which is fine for practice.
Practise adaptability
Every year some candidates panic at a new question type. Include a few mocks that are deliberately unusual. What matters is that you skip quickly and use the time on questions you know.
When to change mock series
Switch if you often find wrong answer keys, questions far longer than anything in previous papers, or the same questions repeating. A good series has clear solutions, realistic lengths and question types that match recent papers.
Rules can change with each notification. Confirm on sbi.bank.in/web/careers.
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