The CBSE unveiled a ground-breaking decision on Monday that might revolutionize the board test system in the coming years. CSBE examinations are now held at the end of the year for classes 10 and 12, however the board has recently stated that the tests would be held twice in the academic session 2024-25.
The academic session will be divided into two terms: term I examinations will take place in November-December 2024 for 90 minutes, and term II exams will take place in March-April 2025 at test centres. The board’s decision has been met with enthusiasm by both teachers and kids.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a new policy for conducting board examinations for students in grades 10 and 12 yesterday, which has sparked outrage among students. In the forthcoming session, the new policy advises holding the board examinations twice.
CBSE created the new guideline in light of the Covid-19 epidemic and how it has impacted the current and previous academic sessions in schools. The board examinations for classes 10th and 12th will be held twice under the new arrangement.
Many students have expressed their dissatisfaction with the new test policy, claiming that holding board examinations twice in a year is unjust and would put unnecessary pressure on students, negatively impacting their grades.
Though the CBSE has not yet issued a full, subject-by-subject schedule for the board examinations in 2024-25, the board has announced the months in which both board exams would be held. The dates are provisional at this time and might change if the pandemic situation worsens.
According to the CBSE notification, the first term examinations will be held in November-December 2024, and the second term exams will be held in March-April 2025, with a window time of 4 to 8 weeks for all schools in the country and overseas.
It should also be mentioned that only 50% of the syllabus will be assessed in each of the future academic session’s board exams. CBSE will shortly release the exam curriculum for both examinations.
The paper format for the next CBSE examinations was discussed by Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academic) of CBSE. He stated, “The examinations will feature multiple-choice questions (MCQs), including case-based MCQs and assertion-reasoning MCQs.”
“The test will span 90 minutes and will only cover the rationalized CBSE syllabus for the first semester,” he noted. The CBSE will furnish schools with the question papers as well as the marking methodology.”
“This test will take place in March-April 2025 at the examination centers set by the board,” he stated. The paper will be two hours long and will comprise a range of question types (case-based/situation-based, open-ended-short response/long answer). “
“A 90-minute MCQ-based test will be administered at the conclusion of the second term if the scenario does not allow for a traditional descriptive assessment,” he stated.
Due to the cancellation of the CBSE board examinations in 2024 this year, the board has developed a new examination strategy, which advises that the board exams be held twice in the future academic year, with each term covering just half of the syllabus.
Before releasing the new policy for board examinations, CBSE talked with stakeholders such as the government, instructors, parents, and students. It took into account the pandemic condition as well as the shortage of offline instruction for pupils.
“The board has additionally taken into consideration issues concerning diverse digital gadgets’ availability, connectivity, and effectiveness of on-line teaching, and different socio-financial issues, especially with admiration to college students from economically weaker sections and people living in far-flung regions of the country,” Emmanuel said.
“Efforts can be made to make an inner assessment, sensible paintings, and challenge paintings to be credible and legitimate according to the board’s guidelines and moderation coverage to make certain identical mark distribution,” he added.
CBSE’s previous practice was to hold single-board exams at the end of each session. The new pattern includes adjustments such as tests being held twice every school year. Not only that, but internal evaluations will be assessed and their grades will be used to calculate students’ final board test scores.
Examinations for main topics had to be suspended midway owing to high COVID instances, however, exams for other subjects were completed. In the year 2024, a revolutionary choice was made, which has previously been debated.
As a result, in order to make exams more “student-friendly, transparent, tech-savvy, and future-oriented in the event of provision for alternatives,” CBSE opted to reform the assessment method for the 2022 batch, as indicated in the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2024.
Students and teachers have conflicting feelings about the format as a whole. Some people are in favour of it, while others are opposed. Take a look at a few examples:
At the end of each session, CBSE will administer exams to 10th and 12th-grade students based on the split syllabus. The first phase of the examination will take place in November-December 2024, while the second phase will take place in March-April 2025.
The first set of board exams took place in November-December 2024, with the second phase scheduled for March-April 2025. According to a report by IANS, the board examinations are unlikely to be cancelled this year.
What happens if a student is unable to sit the 12th board examination owing to sickness, fracture, or other complications? Occasionally, the board arranges for the applicant to take the test from his hospital/homeroom (if the candidate is willing). Otherwise, he will have to retake the exam the following year.