Grading System

The New Scheme of Grading has been introduced with the aim that : It will minimize misclassification of students on the basis of marks. It will eliminate unhealthy competition among high achievers. It will reduce societal pressure and will provide the learner with more flexibility. It will lead to a focus on a better learning environment Operational It will facilitate joyful and stress free learning. My friends who have got 71 or 75 marks will be awarded the same grade. I feel this is unfair. In what ways are grades better than marks? Awarding of grades has number of advantages over awarding of numerical marks. It considerably reduces inter and intra examiner’s variability in marking. It also takes care of imperfection of tools used for assessment. Statistical research in assessment techniques indicates that there is a possibility of variation of scores awarded to individuals to the extent of to 15%. Putting students of similar potential in same ability bands (grades) automatically takes care of all these aberrations in assessment techniques. Lastly, it will reduce undesired and unsound comparison of small difference of marks.

The grading system for the CBSE Board has a few advantages, with the main one being making the structure easy to understand by anyone who may have an interest in the achievements of particular students: Rather than seeing a mark, they will have access to a grade which encompasses particular marks.

It has also been designed to take away some of the competiveness amongst studentsso that instead of being given a numerical mark, a particular band of marks will fall under the same grade. This also takes away any judgemental elements that could arise if a student gets marginally more or less marks than another student, though this has been criticised as being detrimental to the student who may have a few marks more than another, yet is allocated the same grade overall.

Using this system means that all schools, primary and secondary, who