Close on the heels of making Class 10 examination mandatory again, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has set the ball rolling for putting in place a uniform pattern of examinations and assessment from Classes 6 to 8.
“To increase the confidence of students to start preparing for Class 10 Board examination, when they join the upper primary stage in class-six, the CBSE has decided to implement a uniform system of assessment, examination pattern and issue of report cards for classes six to eight also on the same pattern,” says a letter sent by the CBSE to all its affiliated schools.
The letter also says that such a shift would ensure not just ease of migration of students from one to another of the 18,688 CBSE-affiliated schools in India, but also ease students' difficulties in taking admission in a new school.
It wants the uniform format to be implemented from the 2017-18 session.
There will be a calibrated increase in load in the annual exams as per a pre-decided scheme. In the yearly exam in Class 6, the significant topics of term-1 will have a 10% weightage. The term-1 weightages in the yearly exam will go up after this: 20% in Class 7 and 30% in Class 8.
“This gradual upward calibration of the load will prepare the students for the higher effort the Class 10 board examination requires,” said an official.
The grades awarded for Classes 6 to 8 will range from A1 to E (needs improvement). But in Class 9, E grade will mean “fail”. The reason: the RTE Act has a no-detention policy till Class 8 .
