The CBSE New Assessment Scheme: All You Need To Know

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rolled out its latest policy, termed the 'Uniform Assessment, Examination and Report Card'.

The new system does away with the practice of awarding grades and replaces it with marks. Scholastic performance evaluated through written examinations will carry greater weightage than the combination of periodic tests, notebook submission, and subject enrichment activity.

The new system also aims to bring about uniformity in the pattern of examination across all CBSE schools. As the first step in this direction, the Board has also issued a format of the report card along with its circular.

Let us look at some of the key features of the remodeled CBSE pattern to learn how it is going to affect students.

Key features of the new CBSE assessment scheme

1. Parameters of assessment

According to the new guidelines, the parameters of assessment will be as follows:

a. Scholastic performance: Both marks and grades will be awarded for individual subjects.

b. Co-scholastic performance: Grades will be awarded for nonscholastic performance in three categories - Work Education (or prevocational education), Art Education, and Health and Physical Education.

c. Discipline: Grades will be awarded to students after evaluating their commitment to discipline, which includes attendance, sincerity, behavior, and values.

2. Weightage and examination pattern

a. For class IX

The pattern of examination for class IX will be similar to that of class X with only one exam at the end of the academic year. Out of a total of 100 marks, 80 marks have been assigned to written exams while the remaining 20 have been divided between three disciplines: periodic tests (10 marks), notebook submission (5 marks), and subject enrichment activity (5 marks).

b. For classes VI to VIII 

Classes VI to VIII will have the same format of assessment. However, a class year has been divided into two Terms. So, students of these classes will have to appear for exams twice a year, i.e., at the end of each Term. While questions in the Term 1 exam will be based on the syllabus covered during that term, a certain percentage of questions in the Term 2 exam will be based on the Term 1 syllabus.

Benefits of the proposed system

• A uniform assessment system will help students whose parents have transferable jobs to migrate from one school to another easily.
• The marking system will motivate students better than the grading system, as students get a concrete idea of where they stand.
• The pattern of examinations under the new system will prepare students to handle the heavy academic workload of classes XI and XII.

Challenge for parents

Parents will have to ensure that their children go through this transition with minimum hassle.

"Students should make it a habit to stay in consistent touch with their subjects and should study regularly. This will help them handle any form of assessment." - Mr J.Ajeeth Prasath Jain, Senior Principal, Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram, Chennai 

Here are a few tips for parents to help them guide their children to adapt to the new CBSE exam system without much difficulty.

• Attend orientation sessions, if your child's school conducts one. Or, interact with the staff and school management to understand the new scheme clearly and how the school plans to implement it.
• Boost your child's morale by informing him about the positives of the proposed system. Tell him how it will prepare him to handle the rigorous academic workload of higher classes.
• Motivate your child to study regularly and give his best. Do not let him procrastinate, as it will only increase his workload and stress.
• Monitor your child's performance actively throughout the year in all three areas, i.e., scholastic, co-scholastic, and discipline. Reach out to his teachers to discuss his progress. Take necessary steps to help him improve.

"The CCE pattern may have had its advantages, but I am happy about the change. While doing activities and projects did bring about learning and was enjoyed by students, there was always an element of doubt as to whether children were really taking them seriously or not. There was no concrete measurement of the quality of education. However, I feel the transition could have been brought about in a phased manner. It will be difficult for the students who are going to appear for the board exams in the coming academic year as they are not accustomed to this form of assessment." - Sumathi C, Parent of a Class X student at Bala Vidya Mandir, Adyar