CBSE exams to get tougher

Posted On: 07/02/2015 Updated On:

CBSE exams to get tougher

Chennai: If the pre-boards are any indication, scoring in the CBSE Class 12 board examination is set to get a little more difficult than usual. Changes have been made in the exam pattern, shifting from 'objective-type' questions to 'application-based' ones
The number of questions in subjects such as political science, economics, business studies and accountancy was reduced, while the number of "long answer" questions increased and two-three markers reduced. These and other changes were noticed in the sample papers students attempted recently.

The political science paper has just 27 questions against the 31 earlier. Now there are five one-mark and five two-mark questions instead of 10 of each, making it easy for below-average children to score high. Now there are more analytical questions.

The emphasis on long answers will please college teachers, especially those in humanities and social sciences. Some schoolteachers feel bringing sudden changes defeats the purpose of the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system, aimed at reducing stress.

The mathematics paper will have 26 questions instead of 29 and business studies 25 instead of 30. Students say they cannot choose among six-mark questions, which required an elaborate answer, whereas earlier every question had a choice. There is a clear shift from short-answer questions to the long analytical kind, teachers said.

Around half the questions in the accountancy sample paper tested candidates on higher order thinking skills (HOTS).The application-based or interdisciplinary questions don't ask only what is in the textbook. About 70% of the business studies paper had such questions, students said. "Some students — already performing well — are enjoying them. We're afraid they'll impact performance of those who take time to assimilate concepts," said a teacher.

Others are not as perturbed. Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School principal Suma Padmanaban, said there were some application-based questions in chemistry and economics in pre-boards but added that this had been the CBSE objective for a while. "They don't want the exams to be textbook based, because it doesn't really make sense at the end of the day."

Teachers have been including such questions in school exams as preparation. "Direct questions are included to help students who find academics difficult to make the grade. In the boards it is understood that the difficulty levels will be such that all students are tested and to make them think," said Padmanabhan

Modern Senior Secondary School principal K Mohana said the number of HOTS and interdisciplinary questions had increased but the decisions were based on the subject committee recommendations and were part of the curriculum documents released last year. "Nothing is out of syllabus," she said. "The idea," said a CBSE official, "is to de-emphasize rote-learning and move towards more exploratory and evaluative lessons."

More News

GATE 2025 registration date extended

GATE 2025: The registration deadline for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2025 has once again been extended. Earlier set to end on October 3, now the deadline is October 11. This is the second extension as the first deadline was Septe...

Posted On: 09/10/2024

UGC NET Results 2024: Where to check scorecards

The University Grant Commission (UGC) is expected to soon release the results of the National Eligibility Test (NET) 2024 June session re-exam. Candidates can check their results at the official UGC NET website – ugcnet.nta.ac.in –&n...

Posted On: 09/10/2024

JEE Main 2025: Check IIIT Hyderabad’s performance in NIRF rankings

Founded in 1998, the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) has ranked 47 under the latest NIRF 2024 rankings under the engineering category. This year, IIIT Hyderabad did not get a position in the top 100 institutions under o...

Posted On: 08/10/2024

UP NEET UG Counselling 2024: Round 3 registration begins at upneet.gov.in

UP NEET UG Counselling 2024: The Directorate of Medical Education and Training, Lucknow has started the registration for the third round of the Uttar Pradesh National Eligibility Entrance Test Undergraduate (UP NEET UG) counselling 2024. The reg...

Posted On: 08/10/2024

CAT 2024: How can non-engineers score above 95 percentile in Quantitative Aptitude

CAT 2024: The Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section of the CAT (Common Admission Test) can seem challenging for non-engineering students. While engineering students often have a stronger foundation in mathematics, with the right strategies and cons...

Posted On: 07/10/2024

Is it okay to take a drop year to prepare for JEE Main

For many students hoping to get into India’s top engineering universities, such as the IITs and NITs, taking a year off to prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is a big decision. While some students succeed in passing the exam on th...

Posted On: 07/10/2024

These engineering branches dominate IIT BTech students’ choices

Like previous years, the most popular courses at the 23 Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Civil Engineering. As per the data shared by the Joint Admission B...

Posted On: 05/10/2024

IGNOU December 2024 TEE assignment submission deadline extended

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the assignment submission deadline till October 31. The extension is given for all kinds of courses, ODL, online programmes, GOAL, and EVBB for December 2024 tern-end examination (TEE). ...

Posted On: 05/10/2024

UGC NET June 2024 candidates left in lurch as result date not announced yet

It’s been a month since the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC–NET) was held, however, there is no information by the authorities on the result declaration date. The provisional answer key is already out. UG...

Posted On: 04/10/2024

NMC issues notification for inclusion of new PG medical qualification

Medical colleges intending to start a new postgraduate (PG) medical course like MD/MS, DM/MCh, PDF, PDCC or six-year DM/MCh will have to seek guidance from the PG Medical Education Board (PGMEB) for starting the new course. Only after the receipt of ...

Posted On: 04/10/2024

View all