The Central Board of Secondary Education answers questions relating to its examinations from The Hindu's readers. Readers are welcome to send in more questions, primarily those relating to the Class X and XII examinations, to cbsehelp@thehindu.co.in, which will be forwarded to the CBSE. Answers to a select number of them will be published in these columns in subsequent instalments. The purpose of this series is also to help students overcome examination-related stress.
My daughter studying in Class X, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, has opted for the Board exam. Are students who opt for the school exam given preference in admission to Class XI in the same school?
Ravi. P
The Board-conducted SA II is meant for the students of secondary schools and those of senior secondary schools who have opted to move out of the CBSE system. However, there will be no discrimination between students who opt for the Board-conducted examination or school-conducted examination for admission in Class XI. All children passing out of Class X will be given equal preference by schools for admission to Class XI.
What is the second-term syllabus for Class X exams? Will the first-term portions be included for the exams? What does the concept of school exam and Board exam as introduced by the Board mean?
Anirudh
The details regarding the question paper pattern and syllabus have been provided under the Examination corner available on the Board's website www.cbse.nic.in.
The SA II will be based on the second-term syllabus only as prescribed by the Board. No question will be asked from the first-term syllabus. The Board-conducted SA II is meant for the students of secondary schools and those of senior secondary schools who have opted to move out of the CBSE system. Rest of the students of senior secondary schools will compulsory have to appear in the school-conducted summative examination.
I am in Class X and have opted for the Board exam. a) Is it enough to depend entirely on the syllabus issued by the CBSE Board for the exam or is it better to read the entire textbook?
The Summative Assessment II will be based on the content units earmarked for the second-term only. Questions will not be asked from the first-term syllabus.
b) Will the question paper be strictly according to the blueprints and model of the sample paper issued by the CBSE Board?
The question paper will be based on the design of the question paper prescribed by the Board.
c) Is it true that for this Board exam, we will be having only one set of question papers and not three as before?
The Board-conducted Summative Examination II will have multiple sets of question papers as per the past practice.
d) Is it enough to refer only to the NCERT textbook or would you like to prescribe any more supplements, from the examination point of view?
The students should mainly refer to the textbooks prescribed by the Board. However, the question paper is likely to include some higher thinking order questions which may require a student to apply the concepts learnt to new situations.
e) As the exam is optional and probably many students might not be writing these exams, can we expect the results a bit earlier?
Navneeth Mukku
The results for the Board-conducted and school-conducted summative examination will be declared around the same time the dates of which will be communicated to you in due course of time.
A thin rectangular metal sheet with a hole in the centre is heated. Does the diameter of the hole decrease or increase?
Akshay
The diameter of the hole increases.
My daughter did not take the aptitude test conducted on January 22 to decide on the course to be taken in the Intermediate. Can she take it now and if so how?
AC Balaji
There is no such provision at present. However a student is free to obtain a copy of the Paper and do it herself/himself.
In the NCERT Science textbook, Page no. 187, it is given that “the pupil regulates and controls the amount of light entering the eye.” I think it is only iris that controls the amount of light entering the eye. Please clarify.
Babuarul Kannan
Even though primarily it is the iris which controls the amount of light entering the eye, ultimately it is the pupil which regulates it.
Please clarify: a) In what way the CCE system of evaluation better? How will this affect the careers of the students in the long run?
As the name indicates, CCE means continuous and comprehensive evaluation where the scholastic and co-scholastic abilities of a learner are assessed throughout the year in a stress-free and joyous environment by using a variety of informal and formal modes of assessment.
It is expected that focusing on life skills, soft skills, attitudes, values and aptitudes along with cognitive abilities will help students in cultivating a balanced and mature personality which will help them take informed decisions about their career and discharge their obligations as responsible members of the society.
b) Will there be holidays in April?
This may be checked up with your school.
c) Will the answer sheets be sent to other schools or institutions for evaluation?
The answer sheets of the Board-conducted Summative Assessment will be examined by the Board as per its rules and policy, whereas of the school-conducted assessment, these will be checked by the school teachers as per the marking scheme supplied.
d) What is the date of examination for proficiency tests?
Punit and Maninder, Bidar
The dates for the proficiency test to be conducted during May/June will be announced very soon.
Please refer to the Board's website www.cbse.nic.in for the latest announcements, circulars and various other information.
My daughter is in Class X. For the first-term the answer papers were evaluated by the school. Will the final exam answer papers be evaluated by the school or will it be centrally-evaluated?
Dr. Ajit C. Sekhar
The answer sheets of the Board-conducted Summative assessment will be examined by the Board as per its rules and policy.
I am a Plus-Two student. Many of us did not do well in the ‘viva voce' part. Will marks for practicals be reduced to a large extent if we do our viva badly?
Nalini Kutty,
kuttynalini@gmail.com
CBSE has fixed a certain percentage of marks for ‘viva voce'. In the practical examination, if you have not done well in the ‘viva voce', only that part of the marks will be affected.
My ward is in Class X and has opted for the Board exam. I am worried whether he will be able to adjust to the existing exam pattern for Class XI and XII as he is used to the summative type Class IX onwards. Is CBSE going to introduce summative type for Class XI and XII?
V. Radhamadhavan
Till such time fresh guidelines are issued by the Board regarding assessment pattern at senior school stage, status quo will be maintained.
Will not the decision to make the Board exam optional make students complacent and inadequate to face any exam or the competitive world?
Krishnamohan
Changing the examination pattern does not mean that there will be no examination. The students will now be assessed continually in academic as well as co-curricular areas through different modes of formative and summative assessments. There is a definite shift in focus from examinations to learning. We expect parents to support this initiative and provide a stress-free learning environment in their homes for their children.
I am a Class X student. a) Will the questions be complicated as the syllabus has been reduced?
Even if the syllabus has been minimised, the questions will be as per the Sample Question Paper uploaded on the CBSE website, www.cbse.nic.in.
b) Do we have Map questions for the History Board exam?
The question paper will have a Map question of two marks from History Unit of the Social Science syllabus of Class X. For further details, please refer to the Social Science question paper design for Class X posted on the CBSE website.
c) Will the experiment for practicals be based only on summative assessment portion?
Bhushna,
Sri Vageesha Vidhyasham
The syllabus for practical for Term II is as mentioned in the Term-II syllabus, but the practical will be assessed through formative assessments.
What is the difference between a Physics project and a Physics demonstration experiment? Do we need to do both of them or only one of them? Do we need to make the project in a separate file?
Raghu. M
A Physics project is to be done by a student and a Physics demonstration is to be performed by a teacher in the classroom while teaching a lesson. The students are supposed to observe the demonstration and answer the questions as per their observation. Both demonstration and project are part of practical examination and a separate file for a project is to be prepared.
