“Impossibly high” scores and “arbitrary” marks given to students during internal assessments are among concerns raised by parents since the class X results were declared. In class X, the year-end board examination accounts for a maximum of 80 marks and a 20-mark component is based on internal assessments per subject.
Posts by parents on social media and meetings with school principals have betrayed the same anxiety. “This apprehension has become more pronounced this year. Just today, a parent reached out to my admissions coordinator alleging that students from some other schools were given full marks in internal assessments… Considering the process of internal assessment, the possibility of this is quite low,” said Jyoti Arora, principal, Mt Abu School, Rohini, who is also a governing body member at CBSE.
Vipul Aggarwal, an IPS officer posted in Ahmedabad, wrote to CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal, wondering why his daughter, despite scoring high marks in the exam, had been marked poorly in internal assessment. Later, having spoken to Karwal, he tweeted that he was satisfied with the internal assessment process.
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Several school principals that The Indian Express spoke to confirmed that more and more parents are reaching out to them, wondering how their children missed out on the best possible percentage owing to the strict marking scheme.
“It is true that some schools mark students more liberally than the others. It is part of the schools’ unwritten policy,” said the principal of a South Delhi school who did not want to be named.
Ameeta Wattal, principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road, however, said that most schools are fair in their assessment.
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Off the record, CBSE officials said parents raise these issues several times. “We do not prepare a data set of school-wise internal assessment, though the data is sent to us. These concerns have been raised but internal assessment is where schools have to be given autonomy,” said an official.
CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal was not available for comment.
With a “practical” component being introduced in class XII Mathematics and in some science subjects from the coming year, the apprehension among parents has increased.
Wattal, however, said that since an external examiner is involved in grading practical exams and viva voce, the scores are more realistic.
“The external examiners from class XII, I believe, are very fair and give marks as per the potential displayed by the child,” she said.
