After announcing the cancellation of board examinations for Class 12, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on 17 June, released details of how students would be marked for the board exams which could not be conducted due to the second wave of COVID-19 in this year.
But what’s the formula like and how much weightage is given to each component? In this detailed FAQ, we break down every component that will be used by the board to assess and mark Class 12 students.
Will results of classes 10 and 11 be used for calculating marks?
Since Class 12 Board exams could not be conducted this year, the CBSE has decided the following.
- For the theory portion, students would be marked based on scores obtained by them in Class 10 Boards and exams conducted by the school in classes 11 and 12.
- Marks of practicals would be on the basis of actual marks scored by the student in practicals or internal assessment for Class 12, as uploaded by schools.
What is the weightage given to marks obtained in Class 10 Board exams?
As mentioned above, in order to calculate marks for a theory paper of Class 12, the Board has relied on scores from the last three years. However, it must be remembered that scores of Class 10, 11, and 12 will be used only for awarding marks in the theory segment.
For instance, assume that the theory component of a Class 12 subject carries 70 marks. Now, since no theory paper could be conducted this year, the board has decided to calculate it in the following way.
Class 10: 30 percent of 70 marks (21) would come from marks obtained by students in CBSE Class 10 board exams. This would include the “theory component of best three performing subjects out of five main subjects".
Class 11: Another 30 percent of 70 (21) marks would be based on marks scored by students in the theory component of the final exam of Class 11.
Class 12: The remaining 40 percent of 70 marks (28) would be based on unit tests, mid-term exams, and pre-board exams held in Class 12.
If my theory paper carries 70 marks, how will the rest of the 30 marks be calculated?
As stated above, marks for practicals or internal assessment will be based on marks scored by students in these components in Class 12.
For instance, assume that a paper carries 70 marks for theory and 30 for internal assessment in Class 12. Now, if a student has scored 25 out of 30 in practicals, the same will be reflected in her total score.
This means that while for the theory component a student’s performance in the last three years would be taken into account, for the internal assessment, real marks scored by him/ her in Class 12 practicals would be considered.
I did better in pre-boards for Class 12, in comparison to unit tests. Which will be calculated?
The result committee of a school has been empowered to decide the weightage to be given to unit tests, mid-terms and pre-board theory examinations, depending on the “credibility and reliability of the assessment.”
- If the committee feels that pre-board examinations should be taken into consideration, the full weightage can be given to it.
- In cases where students may not have appeared in any or some of the exams conducted in Class 12, the result committee will analyse the situation and come up with a criterion of assessment for Class 12 component.
Questions papers and marking in schools may be subjective for class 11 and 12? How will marks be moderated?
As opposed to marks obtained in Class 10, which are standardised, those obtained by students in Class 11 and 12 (pre-boards and unit tests) are given by schools which have their own marking pattern.
Hence, to ensure standardisation, each school will have to internally moderate the marks to account for school level variations, in the following way:
- The school’s historical performance in Board exams over the last three years would be taken into account and the year with the best performance in Boards would be taken as benchmark.
- For instance, let’s assume that a school’s overall performance in Board exams was 80 percent in 2017-18, 90 percent in 2018-19 and 85 percent in 2019-20, then the school will use 2018-19 as a reference point for moderation.
- This means that a student’s score in a theory paper – to be calculated by the 30+30+40 formula – has to be within the +/-5 range of the average marks scored in the same subject by students of the same school in 2018-19.
- Similarly, the overall average marks in 2021 cannot exceed by 2 marks as compared to the reference year’s average score.
My theory Class 12 paper carries 60 marks, how will it be calculated?
The theory component for subjects in CBSE Class 12 can range from 80 to 30 marks. In cases where the theory component carries 60 marks, the same formula of 30+30+40 would apply.
This means that if the full marks for a theory component is 60, it will be calculated by taking 18 marks each from Class 10 and 11, while taking the remaining 24 from school exams conducted in Class 12.
What if I am not satisfied with this marking policy? Can I take a re-exam?
Appearing for the Union government, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal on Thursday told the Supreme Court that “students who are not satisfied with the assessment done based on the policy will be given an opportunity to appear in examinations to be conducted by the Board when conditions are conducive for holding the examinations.”
On Monday, 21 June, CBSE told the Supreme Court that these optional examinations will be conducted between 15 August and 15 September, if the conditions are conducive. Exams will only be conducted for the main subjects.
When can I apply for the exam?
After the declaration of the result on 31 July, online registration will be made available for the written exam.
The board has spoken with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and has said that college admissions will be in sync with the written exam result timeline.
The examinations for private, patrachar, and compartment will fall within the assessment policy for the academic year 2019 - 2020.
However, marks scored in later examination will be considered as final.
When will results be declared?
According to AG Venugopal, declaration of result by the CBSE will be by 31 July 2021.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)