Class 10 board results: Evaluation methods adopted by CBSE and state boards, what we know so far

The basic break-up of marks provided by the board is as follows: 20 marks based on the internal assessments which have already been conducted by most schools with marks already uploaded, 10 marks for periodic/unit test, 30 for half-yearly/mid-term examinations, and 40 marks for pre-board examinations.

The board has also prescribed a system of internal moderation by all schools based on the historical performance of a school, taking the best performance in the last three years’ board examinations as the ‘reference year’.

In 2020, the board had awarded the students based on the papers they have attempted. For the students who had not attempted a minimum of three papers (especially students of North East Delhi), the results were based on internal evaluation. For students of classes 10 and 12 who had appeared in more than three subjects, the marks for the pending subject were based on the average marks obtained in the best three subjects

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CISCE ICSE 

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) class 10 ICSE board exams have also been cancelled because of the worsening situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. The board has asked the affiliated schools to prepare datasheets of class 10 students’ marks in both class 9 and 10. The schools have been directed to collect and submit the data of all the assessment conducted in the academic year 2019-20 and 2020-21. The board has not yet released any final guidelines to assess class 10 students.

In 2020, the board had put three strategies for evaluating students –  average of a student’s performance on best three papers in board examination — ICSE or ISC, subject internal assessment, percentage subject internal assessment for ICSE.

Chhattisgarh 

The Chhattisgarh Board Of Secondary Education (CGBSE) had deferred the class 10 exams amid COVID second wave. Regular students who were not able to appear for practical exams or projects due to COVID-19 will be awarded the minimum marks required for passing. Class 10 results will be prepared based on internal assessment. Hence, in every theory subject, a maximum of 72 out of 75 marks will be awarded. Similarly, for theory exams of additional subjects, a maximum of 29 out of 30 can be awarded and 68 out of 70 will be valid for practical exams. 

Last year, the CGBSE had conducted most of the exams before the lockdown. As the board cancelled some of the pending exams due to the extension of lockdown, the students got marks on the basis of internal assessment in the remaining subjects.

Gujarat

The Gujarat government has decided to promote all 8.72 lakh regular students of class 10 studying under Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) in view of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation. All regular students of 1,276 government, 5,325 grant in aid and 4,331 private schools and another 45 schools, thus, of a total of over 8.72 lakh students from 10,977 schools in the state, will be mass promoted. Students who are reappearing for the class 10 board exams are exempted from the mass promotion. Examinations for these students will be held only after the Covid-19 cases drop.

In 2020, the Gujarat board had concluded class 10 exams on March 17 and the result was declared based on students’ performance in the written exams.

West Bengal 

The West Bengal government has cancelled the state board exams scheduled to be held in June. While the Madhyamik (class 10) exams were scheduled to begin from June 1, the Higher Secondary (class 12) exams were to commence from June 15. Last year, the West Bengal board commenced the Class 10 Examination on February 18. The last examination was conducted on February 27, 2020. Approximately 10.15 lakh students had appeared for the class 10 board and the results were declared based on performance in written exams.

Uttar Pradesh 

The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) has cancelled the class 10 board exams 2021 due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. The UP class 10 board exams 2021 were to be held from April 24 to May 10. The evaluation criteria for UP class 10 board exams is expected to release in June. The UP Board had concluded the class 10 exams last year on March 3, 2020. The results were released based on the performance in class 10 exams.

Karnataka 

The Karnataka government has also decided to postpone SSLC (class 10) exams in the wake of the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The exams were originally scheduled to be held from June 21 to July 5. The state will conduct the SSLC exams in July. In 2020, while the other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu had cancelled their pending board exams, Kerala had successfully conducted the exam from May 26-31. The results were declared based on performance in written exams.

Maharashtra

Following the CBSE’s decision to cancel the Class 10 exam due to the COVID pandemic, the Maharashtra state board has also cancelled the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) class 10 exams. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary And Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) released the evaluation criteria for SSC (Class 10). Students will be evaluated based on their marks in class 9 and 10, marks of both the classes with have 50 per cent weightage. Of the total marks, 50 marks will be calculated based on the performance in class 9. The remaining 50 will be divided into two – 30 marks will be for the internal assessment of class 10 and 20 marks will be for practical or homework or assignments.