A more holistic evaluation of cancelled subject papers based on a student’s performance at school has been mooted

In what has got to be a huge relief for parents, who were torn between worries over the academic future of their offspring and concerns over their safety in the middle of a raging pandemic, the CBSE and ICSE boards have made their decision at last. Students who appeared in the truncated Class X and XI Board exams will not have to take the remaining examinations that were scheduled to be conducted from July 1. This decision sets to rest apprehensions of both the children and their parents who had been stewing for months over the uncertainty on the future course of action and the possibility of having to juggle entrance tests for colleges and universities as well as the pending Board exams. This is a landmark decision as never before in the history of the CBSE or the ICSE Board have examinations been nixed. But it has struck a fine balance between safety and aspiration. It was the parents who had brought this issue before the court as they preferred to let their child lose a school year rather than risk their health.

So what has been the workaround? THE CBSE will now rate the students’ ability in missed tests by assessing their performance over the last three tests conducted in their schools. The results for both class X and XII will be announced on July 15. However, if a student is not satisfied with the marks, he/she can appear for the exam later. But the dates for those tests have not been announced as yet. The board would most probably play it by the ear and take a call on it based on the number of applications. Further, after these exams, no improvement paper will be held. The ICSE Board may hold optional exams for class X students and its results would be out by mid-July. However, unlike the CBSE, it is yet to come out with the formula to calculate results. While questions might be raised about the fairness of this evaluation method in the near future, and we might see someone rushing to the courts as well, how to go about this in an equitable manner is not an easy question to answer. But as they say, extraordinary times require extraordinary solutions. However, students who are preparing for JEE Main, JEE Advanced and NEET 2020, are apprehensive about their entrance tests going a similar way. Should a more sustained and long-term assessment of performance finally get more credence than a day’s competitive test?