CBSE mandates 2-semester order from Class 6

To make students more confident about facing the Class 10 board exams when they join Class 6, we have decided to implement a uniform system of assessment, examination pattern and report cards...

affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will now have to follow a uniform assessment scheme that stipulates a two-semester system – complete with half-yearly and annual examinations – from Class 6 onwards.

“To make students more confident about facing the Class 10 board examinations when they join the upper-primary stage in Class 6, we have decided to implement a uniform system of assessment, examination pattern and report cards...” said CBSE chairman RK Chaturvedi.

Under the new system, two periodic tests of 10 marks will also be conducted every semester. CBSE officials say it will help improve the quality of education, prepare students for the Class 10 board examinations, and facilitate easy migration of students from one school to another.

Officials said over 18,000 CBSE-affiliated schools follow various systems of assessment from classes 6 to 9, and issue different kinds of report cards to their students. “Due to disparities in the system, students from Classes 6 to 9 face several problems whenever they migrate to another school. It has become imperative to have a uniform system that makes things easier for students. It will help solve migratory issues between CBSE schools as well as other educational institutions,” an official said.

Sources said as CBSE schools are required to follow the NCERT syllabus in the upper primary stage, the authorities deemed it necessary to ensure uniformity in the assessment structure, examination system, and issuance of report cards.

Students – for instance – will be required to study mathematics, science and the social sciences, besides three languages and another subject. Schools will conduct two periodic tests of 10 marks, and the half-yearly written examination will account for 80. Students will also get marks for notebook submission.

For the annual exam, students will be assessed on 10% syllabus of the first term and the entire syllabus of the second. Similarly, the annual exam for Class 7 will include 20% syllabus from the first term.

For classes 6 to 8, students will get grades from A1 (91-100) to E (32 and below). Though co-scholastic activities will also be taken into account, grades will be given out only for factors such as regularity, participation, output, teamwork, and health and physical education (including yoga and martial arts).