Board exams will be administered twice a year in accordance with the new curriculum, and students will have the option of keeping the top grade.
The Center reportedly announced significant changes to the educational system on Wednesday, according to the New Education Policy (NEP). Books will be written for the 2024–2025 school year. The updated curricular framework was made public by the ministry of education.
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education, 2023 states that this would be made possible by creating a “comprehensive test item bank” that can be used to create tests using the proper tools.
The system of on-demand exams envisioned in the NEP, it was claimed, will be feasible to switch to soon as a result of this.
According to NCF, students only have one exam opportunity per year under the current board system, thus they are unable to take the exam whenever they are prepared or retake it if they don’t pass the first time.
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The current problems with board exams, according to the NCF, only focus on students’ “capacity to reproduce learned facts,” which is not what tests are designed for.
“Given that most examinations largely test rote memory, a very narrow range of Competencies are assessed. This gives an incomplete (at best) or incorrect (at worst) picture of student learning,” the NCF read. Instead, it continued, board exams should evaluate students’ mastery of the competencies outlined in the curriculum and offer a “valid and reliable picture of student performance”.
The NCF states that the board will be in charge of developing and putting into practice a fair and reliable testing methodology and strategies to assess competence.
Classes 11 and 12 students must complete two language requirements, at least one of which must be an Indian language.
According to the government, board exams would be given twice a year, and students would be allowed to keep their best grade.
Purpose of Board exams
The purpose of the board exams is to make them “easier” than the current “high stakes” practice by evaluating comprehension and attainment of competencies rather than months of coaching and memorizing.
Board exams will be administered at least twice a year to give students the time and opportunity they need to succeed. Students may then show up for a board exam in a topic they have completed and feel qualified for after that. According to the government, they will also be able to preserve their highest score.
Students in grades 11 and 12 will have more latitude to select their themes thanks to the redesigned curricular framework because they are not restricted to those in the arts, sciences, or business.
“In due course, school boards intend to build the capabilities to provide ‘on demand’ exams. Before beginning this work, individuals will need to complete university-certified courses in addition to test developers and evaluators for board exams, it states.
The new framework also highlights the elimination of the practice of “covering” volumes in the classroom and the reduction of textbook costs.
