School exams

One thing that students detest the most during their school lives is school exams. Under the current Indian education system, school exams are usually considered as the most reliable means of assessing a student’s progress. Undoubtedly, paper & pencil exams are important ways of assessing students’ understanding of concepts, but relying solely on paper-pencil based assessments as the only way to test how much a child knows may not be right. There are various ways other than school exams that can prove immensely helpful in assessing students’ progress in schools. Teachers can also assess students through various classroom activities like discussions, debates, practical assignments etc.  However, these techniques of assessing could possibly be time consuming and also require the teacher to be very insightful about child psychology. These techniques require teachers to practice strict caution against biases coming into play and demand from the teacher to be a lot more patient, so as to allow students to become comfortable with the set-up.    

Changes introduced by CBSE in its assessment system

Unlike the other educational boards in India that still continue to rely solely on paper & pencil school exams to evaluate ‘how much the student has understood’, CBSE has made an attempt to move away from this system. Under the new scheme (CCE) adopted by CBSE, along with the paper & pencil tests (summative assessments) students are also evaluated through various classroom activities (i.e. formative assessments) like quizzes, presentations, etc.  CCE also lays a lot of emphasis on the assessment of students in co-scholastics areas that contribute to the holistic development of student. In light of all the attempts made by the CCE to bring freshness into the education system, care has been taken not to undermine the importance of the traditional testing system (based on paper & pencil tests).    

How to prepare for school exams?

In order to excel in school exams (formative assessments and paper-pencil tests) it is very important for students to be attentive in class. Being attentive and focused in the class helps students to effectively understand the concept; as a result it helps them perform well in the classroom discussions. Likewise for the summative assessments it is very important for students to extensively go through the study material and understand all the concepts thoroughly. After understanding the concepts, the next important step is to test their understanding by taking chapter-wise tests. There are a few websites that provide such tests for students studying under CBSE, ICSE, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu boards. The chapter-wise tests available on such sites are in multiple-choice & question-answer formats that ensure thorough testing. Apart from these chapter-wise tests, students should also try their hand at sample papers/ model tests available at such websites. These mock exams can also help students test their exam taking skills. 

Wishing you all the best for your school exams!

Happy studying!