Rajasthan Exam Glossary
Every abbreviation and term you will meet in Rajasthan recruitment notifications, explained plainly.
Quick answer
Rajasthan recruitment uses three main conducting bodies: RSSB (CET, LDC, VDO, Patwari), RPSC (RAS, PSI, 2nd Grade Teacher) and RBSE (REET). Common terms include normalisation (multi-shift score adjustment), negative marking (usually 1/3 per wrong answer), cutoff (minimum qualifying score) and TSP/Non-TSP (tribal area vacancy split).
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| RSSB | Rajasthan Staff Selection Board — conducts CET, LDC, VDO, Patwari, Women Supervisor and Forest Guard recruitment. Formerly RSMSSB. |
| RPSC | Rajasthan Public Service Commission — conducts RAS, Police Sub Inspector and 2nd Grade Teacher recruitment. |
| RBSE | Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education — conducts REET, the teacher eligibility examination. |
| CET | Common Eligibility Test — a screening test held at 12th and graduation level. Qualifying CET makes you eligible to apply for participating posts. |
| REET | Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers — qualifying test for government teaching posts, held at Level 1 and Level 2. |
| RAS | Rajasthan Administrative Service — the state civil services examination, conducted in prelims, mains and interview stages. |
| PSI | Police Sub Inspector — a Rajasthan Police post recruited through written examination, physical tests and interview. |
| LDC | Lower Division Clerk — a clerical post requiring a written examination plus a qualifying typing test. |
| VDO | Village Development Officer (Gram Vikas Adhikari) — a panchayat-level administrative post. |
| Normalisation | A statistical adjustment applied when an exam is held in multiple shifts, to compensate for differences in difficulty between question papers. |
| Negative marking | A penalty for wrong answers. Most Rajasthan exams deduct 1/3 mark per incorrect response. |
| Cutoff | The minimum score required to qualify for the next stage. It varies by category, year and vacancy count. |
| TSP / Non-TSP | Tribal Sub-Plan and Non-Tribal Sub-Plan areas. Certain Rajasthan recruitments have separate vacancies and cutoffs for TSP districts. |
| MBC | Most Backward Class — a reservation category in Rajasthan distinct from OBC, with its own quota in state recruitment. |
| EWS | Economically Weaker Section — a reservation category for candidates from economically weaker backgrounds among unreserved categories. |
| PYQ | Previous Year Question — questions from past exam papers, the most reliable indicator of what a syllabus actually emphasises. |
| Sectional test | A test covering one subject or section only, used to diagnose weak areas before attempting full-length mocks. |
| Mock test | A full-length practice test replicating the real exam's question count, marks, duration and negative marking. |
| Admit card | The hall ticket issued before an exam, containing roll number, exam centre and reporting time. Required for entry. |
| Answer key | The official list of correct answers published after an exam. Candidates may usually raise objections within a stated window. |
| Merit list | The ranked list of qualified candidates used for final selection, prepared after all stages are complete. |
| D.El.Ed | Diploma in Elementary Education — a teaching qualification required for REET Level 1 eligibility. |