Board exam fever? The scores barely matter for admissions; here's why

Every secondary school student in India, irrespective of which board he or she studies in, faces two pressure points — the external board exams at the end of Class X and Class XII. 

For decades, the scores in these exams, particularly at the end of Class XII, remained most critical for deciding career choices. But how important are the board exam scores now?

The flip-flop-flip show

Consider Class X. There has been a flip-flop-flip show here. In 2011, the Union government made the exam optional in schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Students could opt to take an exam conducted by the school. The idea was to take the pressure off students and help them conserve their energies to face the more important Class XII boards. However, in 2018, the decision was reversed, and the Class X board exams were back — made mandatory again for the CBSE. Other boards never made the exam optional anyway.

Do the Class X board exam scores matter? Of course, they do, but in a very limited manner. For example, in some schools, high scores in Class X boards help students gain admission to desired “groups” that are in demand. They may also help with choices in another school (or in a “junior” college in some states). Irrespective of scores, the Class X external exam mark sheet is used to verify the date of birth for a student who does not have a birth certificate in an acceptable format.

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In fact, setting a record score in Class X could become counter-productive. It puts pressure on the student to repeat the performance in Class XII, extending the pressure streak. So, what should one do? 

Well, aim to score good enough marks to choose the desired subject combination in Class XI. A psychiatrist says it is important for a student to score higher marks in Class XII than Class X to indicate that (s)he has been improving academically. A decline in scores is avoidable.

The more important Class XII boards

Let us first consider engineering and medicine, the two most sought-after streams for students after Class XII.

The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for admission to engineering colleges is held in two stages —main and advanced. The former is for reputable engineering colleges, including the 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and the latter, for admission to the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Aspirants must score 75% or be within the top 10 percentile of the board concerned. 

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Even this minimum is being contested. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body, has recently urged the National Testing Agency (NTA), the JEE exam conducting entity, to do away with the 75% eligibility in Class XII boards.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) is the sole entrance test for students aspiring to pursue health sciences, such as general medicine (MBBS), dental (BDS), and indigenous medical courses, such as BAMS (Ayurveda). Here again, a general category student with 50% marks in Class XII is eligible to take the test.

In effect, neither JEE nor NEET adds Class XII board exam scores to the final ranking. It is only an eligibility criterion. The entrance test score alone counts for admission to courses in medicine and top colleges in engineering.

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Moving beyond engineering and medicine, to gain admission to any undergraduate course offered in any of the 44 central universities, one must clear the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). To be eligible for the CUET, the general category aspirants must get at least 50% in Class XII. There could be an interview component in some varsities carrying a 15% weightage. But as with JEE and NEET, the Class XII board score is only an eligibility criterion for CUET and won’t be considered for the ranking.

For another so-called professional stream, law, the floor for Class XII board exam score is even lower. The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the gateway for the 22 National Law Universities, as well as many other law schools, expects a student to score only above 45% in Class XII board exams to be eligible for admission. And, as with other entrance tests, the Class XII exam scores are not counted for ranking.

The seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) also consider JEE (advanced) rankings for admission in science streams. However, the IISERs, rather exceptionally, do offer very high scorers — only the top 1 percentilers in any Class XII board — a separate route for admission. But here, too, such top scorers are not automatically admitted. They must clear an entrance test called the IISER Aptitude Test.

Also, a growing number of colleges and universities are switching to entrance test scores for admission. For instance, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science And Higher Education For Women in Coimbatore, and the Dr BR Ambedkar School Of Economics University in Bengaluru will accept CUET scores for admission in 2023. Expect the trend to accelerate.

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Besides these, private universities such as Azim Premji University, Ashoka University, and Shiv Nadar University have only a basic “eligibility” score criterion in Class XII boards for admission to undergraduate courses. They have always had their entrance tests as well as interviews for selection.

It is not difficult to spot the trend of the diminishing importance of Class XII scores across the board for admission to institutes and colleges in any stream.

So, what should one do?

Well, if a student is in Class IX or XI, it may make sense to aim for a reasonably good score in Class XII since there are still colleges (though their numbers are diminishing) that admit students based on board exam scores. It might be a good idea to get to know the cut-off percentages such colleges had in recent years.

However, if the student is in Class VIII or lower, it makes sense to focus on communication skills, sports, music, and much else, even outside of the school curriculum. These are gaining weight in the admission process. Hard work, diligence, sincerity, and other desirable qualities can be diverted to cracking the entrance tests in the chosen domain while making sure one scores enough in Class XII to cross the eligibility barrier. There is no need to kill oneself to be a top scorer in board exams.

(The author consults in the education domain. He can be reached at srihamsa@gmail.com)